Losing Air

Twilight awoke the next morning with a dull pain her neck. She opened her eyes to see Rainbow staring at her with a smirk on her face. She shook her head to clear the fog and sat up to look at her friend who was trying hard not to laugh.

“What?” Twilight asked, confused.

Rainbow lost control and burst out laughing. This went on for a long enough for Twilight to start to get annoyed at her friend. Her expression must have attested to this fact as Rainbow, after looking at her face, quickly stifled any further laughter.

“Did you know you snore?” Rainbow said.

“I most certainly do not snore!” Twilight said, brushing her mane back with her hooves.

“Whatever you say Twi,” Rainbow said, with a giggle.

“Well I'm glad to see you are feeling better today,” Twilight said, standing and stretching. “I bet you can't wait to get out of here.”

Rainbow sighed. “You don't know the half of it,” she said, doing her best to stretch within the confines of the bed. The doctor chose that moment to arrive and give Dash the checkup she had been waiting for. After some manual checking and a scan with his magic he smiled at the pegasus.

“All clear, Ms. Dash, you are free to go. Just head to reception and sign the forms there and everything should be taken care of,” the doctor said, leaving the room to the girls. After collecting her books into her saddlebag Twilight looked up at Rainbow.

“Ready to go?” the unicorn asked asked.

Rainbow gave Twilight a grin and gingerly made her way off the bed. She got all four hooves on the ground fine and gave her front legs a quick shake. Satisfied with the results she went to take a step forward and immediately fell. She tilted left and crashed into the bed she had just vacated before falling to the ground with a thud.

“Oh my gosh! Rainbow!” Twilight said, rushing around to her her friend up. Once she was on her hooves again the purple mare looked at her friend cautiously. “What happened?”

Rainbow looked frustrated. “I don't know. It's like my sense of balance is off. It's not the weight, it's...I don't know, something else.”

Twilight nodded with understanding. “Of course, I've read about this. As pegasi spend half their time in the air their equilibrium is aided heavily by their wings. The loss of yours has likely thrown that off. Would you like me to go get a wheelchair?” the purple mare asked. One look from Rainbow told her that was not an option. The pegasus took a tentative step forward and with only a small stumble managed to stay upright this time. She sighed and looked over to her friend.

“Look, Twi, can you, um...”

Twilight smiled at her friend and walked over to stand on her left side. Not actually touching but close enough that if she were to slip the unicorn would be there to support her. The pegasus' cheeks were red and a frown was plastered on her face.

“I know this is hard for you Rainbow. I'm only here for support – you can do this!” Twilight said, hoping to reassure her friend. Rainbow's jaw set and, with a look of determination, she started to slowly walk forward. Twilight stuck closely by her side. Once out into the hallway they picked up a rhythm and were starting to speed up when Rainbow slipped. Twilight caught her right away and helped her back onto her feet. Rainbow huffed in annoyance and started moving again, albeit, slightly slower this time.

They made it to reception and filled out the required forms, thank Celestia for universal health care, before walking out of the hospital and into the sunshine. Rainbow sighed as the wind hit her face. Twilight notices the pegasus' remaining wing stretch out and catch the breeze. The pegasus stood for a few moments before sighing and retracting her wing to her side.

“That felt awesome and horrible at the same time,” Rainbow said, frowning at her friend. “I thought that everything would feel different but the problem is that it doesn't. When I spread my wings just then my instinct was to fly. It felt like I could just take a few stops forward and take off and everything would be right again.” Rainbow stopped talking and Twilight noticed a wetness to her eyes. The blue mare coughed and shook her head.

Twilight looked around for a few moments before turning to her friend. “So, where to?” she asked. Rainbow opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it again with a confused expression on her face.

“I really don't know. My reaction is to go home but I won't even be able to get up there. Also, with my balance the way it is, I don't really want to be standing that high up,” Rainbow said. Twilight looked at her friend and tried not to let the sadness she felt show on her face. She knew she had to be strong for Rainbow and she didn't want a repeat of what had happened between them earlier.

“Well, if you want, you can come to the library? We have a spare bed that you can stay in until you get your balance back which, knowing you, probably won't take all that long. We can sort out your house too and see what can be done about it. Maybe it can be lowered to the ground for you? You should have no trouble standing on the clouds. You are still a pegasus after all.”

Rainbow laughed without mirth. “Barely...” she muttered, before standing and looking Twilight in the eye. “Doesn't matter anyway, clouds can't sit on the ground for too long, they just turn to fog spread thin before disappearing altogether. Your place sounds fine for now.”

Twilight sighed as her friend started walking. This was going to be tougher than they both thought.

They arrived at the library and Twilight left to organize the bed for Rainbow. Spike was nowhere to be seen so the pegasus walked around the library looking at the books to try and kill some time. Most of the books on the shelves were of no interest to her but she stopped at the physical health section and looked at the bindings. Her eyes raised on a book which she gently removed with her mouth and took over to the couches to read. She had been skimming the book for about fifteen minutes before Twilight came back down.

“Sorry I took so long, Spike is still asleep up there and I was trying not to wake – hey, what are you reading?”

The pegasus laughed at her friend as Twilight blushed slightly.

“Sorry,” Twilight said, “Can't really get out of librarian mode no matter what else is going on.”

Rainbow held up the book in her mouth so Twilight could see the cover.

“Oh wow, Rainbow, 'Core Strength and Balance Training'? You're getting right back into it, huh?” Twilight said, a smile almost touching each ear.

“Yeah, you know me. I want to get sorted out as quickly as possible. Get back into a routine, you know?” Rainbow said, leafing once more through the book.

Twilight was confused. “Routine? Half the time I saw you you were just flying around doing tricks. The other half you were napping,” she said, smiling at her friend.

Rainbow looked up at her with a small frown. “Is that really all you think I did?”

Twilight froze. This was exactly what she had been thinking about the day before. How well did she really know her friends? She decided that honest was the best policy.

“Well, honestly, I kinda did. That was all I ever saw you do and I never really questioned my initial preconceptions. I know you are a hard worker but I had just thought you worked fast so you wouldn't have to work all day,” Twilight said. She walked over and sat next to Rainbow on the chair. “After you said what you did to me about friendship I realized that not everything you said was wrong. I visited Rarity and noticed that I had no idea, besides the dresses she had made for us, what she did at the boutique. I assumed she just made fancy dresses but taking the time to actually walk through her store made me notice things I hadn't before.

“I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry, Rainbow. I didn't mean to offend you and I would really like to know more about your life – if you wanted to tell me that is,” Twilight said, smiling at her blue friend. Rainbow considered Twilight's words for a few moments before nodding.

“Yeah I guess we can talk about it. I mean, it's all kind of out the window now, but me going over my old routine with you should be fine. Could we maybe get some food first though? My stomach feel like it's about to eat itself.”

Twilight noticed her own hunger the moment Rainbow brought it up and the two of them quickly left to the kitchen. She placed some refreshments and a simple meal of oats and fruit in milk on the table. The two of them dug in greedily and filled their stomachs before Twilight used her magic to float the bowls into the sink and made their way back to the couches in the main room. Once they were comfortable the pegasus started her story.

“Well, I first wake up at four AM,” Rainbow said.

“Wait – what! Four AM!” Twilight said, her mouth hanging open. “But I know you don't go to bed until at least midnight! How is that possible?”

Rainbow laughed at her friend. “Calm down or you'll wake up Spike,” she said. Twilight grimaced and looked at the top of the stairs as if expecting the grumpy dragon to be standing there. When they were sure the coast was clear Rainbow continued. “Yeah, you are right, I don't go to sleep until midnight. But it's not at least midnight, it is exactly midnight, every night. I also nap fifteen minutes every day at eight AM, midday, four PM, and eight PM. It's called polyphasic sleep and it's way more efficient then sleeping eight hours every night. I can't remember the pony who invented it but I am way more rested off five hours than I ever used to be off eight.”

Twilight grinned at her friend. “His name is J.S. Szyponeski. The stallion who invented it that is. I've been wanting to try it for years but, even did attempt it a few times, but always quit after a couple of days when I felt like I was going to pass out. How did you manage it?” Twilight said, bouncing on the spot in excitement.

Rainbow smiled at her friend. “Yeah I should have known you would know all about it. The first few days were really hard but once you get past it and reboot yourself it's amazing. You know how you get tired in the after noon and feel like you need a nap but force yourself through anyway?” Rainbow said, pausing for Twilight to nod. “Well I don't ever get that feeling any more. I'm not even tired when I go for my naps but I fall asleep almost instantly and wake and keep going. It gave me an extra three hours in the day to train so from the moment I heard of it I knew I had to do it.”

Twilight was amazed. She would never have guessed that one of her close friends had accomplished something she had been struggling to do for the past few years, but knew that if anyone could it was Rainbow Dash. She always knew that when the pegasus put her mind to something she would give it her all. This was just more confirmation that she needed to know more about her friends. What she had learned in the past ten minutes could potentially change her life. Extra hours to study every night! Before it had been an unreachable dream, but now she knew it was within her grasp. She immediately added a note to her mental checklist to get Dash to help her get on the same sleep pattern before turning her attention back to Dash's routine.

“Okay so where was I? Oh, yeah, I wake at four AM every day. I usually have about two hours before the sun starts to come up so for the first hour I do a stretching routine that helps limber me up for the day. After that I head out for some running. I love flying and all but you get a huge cardio workout from the movement with running. I've heard swimming is better but Ponyville is too small for a heated pool and there is no way I'm getting in the lake that early. I tried once and trust me – it's colder than it looks.”

Twilight listened enraptured as her friend detailed the rest of her day. She went from workouts, to flight practice, to weather work, to sleep, and back through all of them again in various combinations. The purple mare was stunned with how full the pegasus' day was and wondered when she ever got time to see them all. She asked this once Rainbow had finished.

“Oh, well, you can't do the weight training every day. So on every second day I use those periods to rest. That is when I'll usually go visit you, Fluttershy, or Pinkie. I don't see Rarity as much because she is just as busy as me and I don't like interrupting her. Applejack always thinks I'm slacking off and tries to rope me into work which, unless I want to be dead the next day, I cant really do if I want to stick to the routine. Saturdays I only do the morning stuff, I take the rest of the day off, and Sundays is complete rest. Nothing but stretching.”

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “I can't believe I didn't know all this about you Rainbow. I knew you wanted to get into the Wonderbolts but I had no idea you trained so hard for it!”

“Well, yeah, Twi,” the pegasus said. “I mean, like, they're pro athletes. I have to be in peak condition if I even want a chance to get in.” Rainbow shrugged as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb all over Twilight's views of her.

“Rainbow!” called a small dragon, atop the stairs to the bedroom. Rainbow cringed as she saw another pitying face come down the stairs. To her credit Twilight picked up on this right away and headed off the inevitable questions.

“Spike, with me in the bedroom, now,” the purple mare said, walking up the stairs to cut him off halfway. Spike frowned but walked up her without asking any questions. “Now Spike, I didn't mean to cut you off there, but before you go out and attack Rainbow Dash with questions listen to me for a moment. She is going to be staying here for a few days until she gets back on her hooves. I don't want you bugging her about her injury or doing anything that might upset her. She is not in the best place right now so I want you to promise me you will be on your best behavior and try to treat her like you always have.” She gave her assistant a small smile. “Do you think you can do that for me?”

Spike frowned but nodded. “I get it Twilight. I just wanted to make sure she was okay but I guess she has heard that a lot huh? I'll make sure to keep out of her way.”

Twilight smiled at him. She knew she could count on Spike to understand. For a baby dragon he understood quite a lot more than she gave him credit for considering his age. It might have something to do with him putting up with her quirks over the years. She promised him she would get him a ruby to make up for the extra hassle of another mare in the house and his eyes lit up at the prospect. After leaving the room he went to Rainbow who grimaced as he approached.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash, I hear you are going to be staying with us for a few days,” he said, grinning.

Rainbow nodded. “Uh, yeah Spike, just until I sort some stuff out, you know?”

Spike smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it's going to be great! Do you think you can find the time to tell me some more stories about the Wonderbolts? I love when you tell them – you put so much action into it.”

Rainbow was surprised and then looked up at Twilight who was smiling. The pegasus sighed in relief and looked down at the dragon. “Sure thing buddy. We are gonna have to go get a few things from my place first but how does tonight before bed sound?”

“It sounds great! Did you guys need anything before you left? Breakfast?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Already sorted, Spike, thanks anyway. Did you want us to get you anything while we were out?” she asked. Spike shook his head and the girls got ready to leave. Twilight reattached her saddle bags and they left the library.

“Did you want to head straight to your house now?” Twilight asked.

“Nah, it wouldn't be much use. We are going to need some help getting it out of the sky. I know just the guys for the job. Let's head to the enviro office and see if they are still there. Work for the normal guys doesn't start for about an hour so they should still be there drawing up the plans for the week.”

The headed to the small industrial section of Ponyville which was little more than a few office buildings. The main export from their small town was farming, which were usually run from the farms themselves, so there wasn't much need for a large presence of buildings within the town dedicated to them. As they walked Twilight noticed that Rainbow was talking less than usual and looked over to her friend to see what was wrong. She noticed Rainbow concentrating on the ground in front of her and understood right away.

“Wow, Rainbow, I had completely forgotten about your balance. I would offer to stand by your side again but you are doing great! I've not even noticed a misstep since we left the library.”

Rainbow smiled. “Thanks. I have to concentrate but I should have it sorted in no time at all. Then it's back to being awesome,” Rainbow said.

Twilight was happy to hear her friend refer to herself in that way. It was the first time since her accident she had said anything remotely cocky and was glad for her to be mending. Twilight turned to her friend. “Just take it easy. Those legs aren't one hundred percent yet and I don't fancy another trip to the hospital today.”

Rainbow laughed. “You and me both, Twi, you and me both.” They stopped as they arrived at the environmental office. Rainbow grimaced as she looked at the door.

Twilight put a leg around her friend. “Did you want me to go in and bring someone out?” she asked.

Rainbow shook her head. “No, I need to get this over with eventually. Might as well do it now. It will be good practice.” She took the lead, walking forward, and pushed the door open with her head. The reception area was small and dominated by the large desk which a brown earth stallion sat behind. He held up his front hoof to them without looking up from the forms he was filling out with the quill he held in his mouth.

“Be wif yu im a mimmite,” he said, mumbling around the quill. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“I think we can find our own way out the back, Cruncher,” the pegasus said, forcing a smile.

The stallion immediately dropped the quill causing ink to streak across the paper he currently working on. He looked up with wide eyes and stared at the pair behind the desk.

“Ms. Dash! You're back!” he said, jumping up from his chair and giving Rainbow a grin. The moment his eyes hit the lump on her back where her wing was supposed to be his expression fell. He walked around to put a hoof on her shoulder. “We are all really sorry about what happened, Ms. Dash, if there is anything you need don't hesitate to ask.”

Rainbow shrugged his hoof off and pushed a grin onto her face. “Don't worry about it, Crunch. I'm just here to see Thunderlane about a favor he owes me. Anything I have to sort out about my job? I don't think I'll be back at work anytime soon, heh,” Rainbow said, her grin losing some of its height.

“Of course, don't worry about it. I'm sure we can find a place for you when you are ready to come back. Take your time though, get some rest, we will keep everything under control,” he said, smiling at her. Rainbow nodded and tried another smile, which came out more as a grimace, before leading Twilight to the hallway in the back of the room.

They went past a few doors before Rainbow led them into a larger room. When Twilight entered she saw it was a meeting room. There were no desks or chairs but a bunch of blackboards around the room with crude cloud drawings and a bunch of lines that looked right out of a sports playbook. Twilight noticed there was a large map on the side wall of the Ponyville greater area divided into a grid of squares. She saw that each board had a letter and number in the top left which corresponded to the grid on the map. The purple unicorn smiled in appreciation at the organization of the weather teams work load. Even knowing next to nothing about weather control she could already see the basics of what was going on. Must have made it a lot easier on the team to work it all out.

Twilight stood admiring the walls for a few moments before the door behind them opened and the sounds of various conversations spilled into the room. Once the weather ponies were in the room their talking came to a halt as they noticed the blue pegasus in the room. The pause lasted for a few moments before Rainbow cleared her throat.

“Sup guys,” she said, another grin on her face. They all rushed forward at once and began speaking together. Rainbow raised a hoof and, to Twilight's surprise, they all stopped talking. “Okay, so I've been out of commission for a while, bring me up to speed. Thunderlane, I assume you've been running the show in my absence?”

“Yes, ma'am, indeed I have. We have been on schedule fine even without your help. I had to hire a couple of newbies, to make up for losing you for a few days, but they are temps so you can decide whether to keep them or not,” the dark grey pegasus said.

“How is the situation over Everfree?” Rainbow asked, arching her eyebrow.

“Everything is fine. Nothing big has rolled out in the past few days.”

Rainbow nodded. “Alright, get on with it, I'll be waiting in the break room when you are done. I need a favor from you, Thunder, so come see me okay?” she said. Thunderlane nodded and turned to the boards to began barking orders to the rest of the pegasi in the room. Twilight followed Rainbow as she left the room and went straight through the door on the other side of the hallway. The entered the break room and sat on one of the couches to wait. Twilight turned to her friend.

“So what was all that about in there?” the lavender mare asked.

“What?” Rainbow asked, her eyebrow raised.

“The way you barked orders. It was like you were there boss or something.” Twilight said, with a smile.

Rainbow frowned at her friend. “That would be because I am Twi. I'm the manager of the Ponyville weather team.”

Twilight stared at her friend in shock. “I knew you were good at your job but I honestly had no idea you were the manager here.”

Rainbow laughed at her friend. “Yeah, I guess it comes from the motivation to keep everything in my private life organized. I make sure everything runs smooth and efficient so I can spend more time out of work doing the things I need to to get into the Wonderbolts. I like being a weather pony, but it isn't where I want to be the rest of my life, you know?”

Twilight nodded at her friend with a smile and looked down at her hooves. She didn't know if she could handle any more surprises like this from a pony who she thought she knew so well. She looked up at her friend again. “Wait, what about the charts? Was that you too?”

Rainbow smiled her usual cocky grin. “Yeah, pretty neat, huh? I thought of it while following the plans for a Wonderbolts routine one night. It was laid out simply and made things look way cooler. Had the added bonus of making things more fun too. The first day I set it all up the guys loved it. A lot of them are into hoofball so it became a game between them to set up the 'plays' to see who could most efficiently deal with their square that day. They even put little bets on it now, all in good fun of course,” she added, noting the look on Twilight's face.

“Well color me impressed Rainbow Dash! You just keep surprising me today,” Twilight said with a smile. At that moment Thunderlane came through the door and smiled at his leader.

“So, I'm going to assume you aren't back with us for good yet? I heard you only got out of hospital today,” he said, concern etched over his face. Rainbow shrugged and looked away from him.

“Nah, not yet. I got some stuff to sort out but I wanted to stop in and see how things were going. So, tell me, how is it really?”

Thunderlane sagged slightly. “It has been impossible. I know I've been your second in command for a while now but I had no idea how much you had to do to sort this place out. Every morning since you left I've had to get up two hours early just to plan the day out. How did you manage it?” he asked.

“Trade secret,” Rainbow said with a smirk. “Seriously though you look like you have it pretty handled. I'm glad I left you in charge.”

Thunderlane beamed under the praise. “That means a lot, thanks. I just hope the Everfree doesn't toss out anything too major – I'll probably break under the pressure of reorganizing everything,” he said, laughing.

Rainbow laughed along with him causing Twilight to smile. She looked in her element, no pun intended, here talking with her underling. She asked him if he would drop by the cloud house with them and help her drop it to the ground so she could get some things. He agreed and the blue pegasus excused herself to the bathroom. Once she was gone Twilight turned to Thunderlane.

“You really seem to respect her,” she said.

Thunderlane smiled and nodded. “Yeah she is amazing. You have no idea what it was like here before she got promoted and sorted everything out. She has really changed the way we handle weather around here. Everyone is so much more relaxed and the sky is always sorted each day. With the old boss it was more a rush to try and get everything that was supposed to be done the day before done by the end of today.”

Twilight nodded. “Sounds like you have pretty big shoes to fill,” she said.

“Don't I know it,” he said with a sigh. “I have been working my flank off and it's only been four days! I have no idea how she does it, but I sure as heck am not letting the place turn to hell before she comes back.” He turned to look Twilight in the eye. “So, how is she, really? She may be my boss but she is my friend too, and I can tell when she is hiding something.”

Twilight grimaced. “It's not really my place to say, but just know that I will take care of her and try to get her back to where she was before.”

Thunderlane sighed and nodded before running a hoof through his white and silver mane. “I hope that’s possible, Twilight, I really do.”

They arrived at the cloud house fifteen minutes later. Rainbow had parked the house close to her work so as the make the commute short which, in the air, was only a few minutes flight. After another ten minutes Thunderlane arrived with another pegasus and they proceeded to bring the cloud house down to the ground.

“Hey, be careful, I got a lot of stuff in there,” Rainbow said, grinning. “You break anything and you own me a beer Thunderlane.”

The stallion grinned. “I’ll get you a drink anytime you want, Rainbow,” Tunderlane said, giving her a sly grin of his own. Rainbow Dash just laughed at him and shook her head.

“In your dreams buddy,” she said.

A look of feigned pain came across Thunderlane’s face as he clutched his chest with a hoof. “You toy with my emotions too much boss.” The stallion held the pose for a few moments before dropping the act and laughing with his colleague. The stallions carefully lowered the house and within ten minutes the job was complete.

“Need anything else before we go?” Thunderlane asked.

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah that was all. Thanks for the help guys,” the blue pegasus said. They said their goodbyes and left leaving the two mares alone in front of the house. Twilight cast a quick cloud walking spell on herself and walked up the steps and along the pathway to her friends house. Rainbow took the steps slowly to ensure she didn’t spill and followed behind the purple mare. As they approached the door Twilight noticed something.

“The rainbows aren’t flowing,” the purple mare said, frowning.

Rainbow looked up at the normally flowing colors. “Yeah because of the lack of pressure this low. Hence why we make rainbows in the sky - the materials kind of separate on the ground.”

Twilight nodded and opened the door for her friend. They entered into a living area that Twilight was not surprised was extremely ordered. If you had have asked her the day before she would have assumed Rainbow’s house would have been a mish mash but, after what she had learned, she knew her friend's home would not have been in any other condition. Rainbow demanded the best from herself and her job so there was no way she would accept anything less from her house.

“Did you need a hand getting anything?” Twilight asked.

“Nah, I only need some basic stuff, it’s not like I pack like Rarity or anything,” Rainbow said, grinning. Twilight laughed and nodded her head as the pegasus turned to walk up the stairs. Rainbow halted momentarily before gritting her teeth and making the climb. As Twilight waited, she walked around the first floor of the house, admiring the architecture. It was obviously heavily inspired by Cloudsdale as that was where Rainbow had spent most of her life. It was at that moment Twilight realized she had no idea why the pegasus had even come to Ponyville in the first place. Rainbow Dash was obviously more in her element around those that could fly. She made a note to ask her friend about it at a more appropriate time when she heard a small knock at the door. She walked over and opened it revealing a small grey pegasus with a golden mane standing on the cloud with a smile on her face.

“Oh, hey Derpy,” Twilight said to the mail mare with a smile.

“Hi Twilight! I didn’t think I would run into you here. I was worried for a moment when I saw Rainbow’s house was gone but when I saw it on the ground I assumed she was back. Is she here? I have some mail for her.”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, she is here, but she's upstairs at the moment packing some things. I’ll take her mail if you like? She will be staying at the library for a few days so if there is any more mail for her can we please get it delivered there?”

Derpy smiled and reassured Twilight it would be done. She handed the small pile of letters to the unicorn and gave her a quick goodbye before leaving the cloud to finish her rounds. Twilight placed the letters on the coffee table in the center of the room and briefly wondered how some of the furniture didn’t sink through the cloud. Must be some kind of lasting charm on the wood. She reached for her magic, let it run over the table, and smiled when she found the charm. She was just starting to try to reverse engineer the process when she heard a cough from behind her. Twilight quickly spun and tried not to look guilty as Rainbow stood at the foot of the stairs with an eyebrow raised.

“I wasn’t going to break anything, I swear,” the purple mare said.

Rainbow laughed. “I know you wouldn’t mean to break anything, Twi, but I know how you can get when you see something you don’t understand. What do you say we take you a nice small lamp home and you can play with it there.”

Twilight squealed with unrestrained glee. “Thanks! I know that enchantments like this as a dime a dozen where you come from but I have never really seen them tailored this way. The coupling of the lightness spell with the -”

“Yeah, I don’t really care about the theory part. I just like it when my stuff isn’t broken to pieces on the ground,” Rainbow said with a smile. Twilight blushed and thanked her friend again.

“Were you talking to someone down here? I thought I heard voices.”

“Oh, right, Derpy came by with some mail for you. I put it on the table.”

Rainbow put down her bag and sat down on the couch to leaf through the mail. She looked disinterested for most of them but Twilight noticed her friends expression change as she stopped halfway through the pile. Her hooves shook as she opened the letter and carefully unfolded the paper inside. Once she began reading her hooves stopped shaking and tears pooled in her eyes. A few drops made their way out and fell to the paper below. Rainbow suddenly jumped up and ran from the room to the kitchen where she proceeded to empty her breakfast into the trash can.

Twilight stood stunned and rushed into the kitchen and over to her friend. “Rainbow are you okay? What's the matter?” she said.

Rainbow spat into the bin. “Read the letter,” she said, her voice dead.

Twilight grimaced and walked back into the living room. She approached the letter with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. As her eyes landed on the page she started to read.

Dear Ms. Rainbow Dash,

Your performance in the recent Wonderbolts tryout competition have given us a chance to get to know you and the skills you would bring to the team. While we believe you still have a long way to go we think that your time will be best spent developing your skills with us in a full time role. It is with great pleasure that we wish to offer you a position in our touring lineup.

Our initial training session for the new recruits is in one month time where we will begin working out the routines for our next tour. Your role as a rookie will be one of training and learning how we achieve what we do as the Wonderbolts - it is not just about passion, but also about careful planning and commitment.

We would love you have you with us and look forward to hearing from you to discuss your contract. Please drop by the academy as soon as you are able.

Captain Spitfire

The Wonderbolts