For the first time in my life, I was excited to be putting on a dress.
Well, more that I happened to be excited and be putting on a dress at the same time.
My best friend, Twilight Sparkle, was going to officially become royalty. A princess. But not only a princess, she was going to stretch her wings for the first time ever on a test flight, in front of everypony in Canterlot. Twilight had just gotten her wings, bringing her from a unicorn to a full-fledged alicorn which gave her status as a princess.
But more importantly, a new flying buddy that I, Rainbow Dash, would personally train in my spare time. Once she'd taken her test fight, she was going to see for herself the sheer awesomeness of flying.
The test flight thing was my idea, by the way. It took me nearly a week of convincing her, plus a little bit of help from Fluttershy, my other best friend that I knew since I was four.
I looked over at Fluttershy. She was a pegasus pony, like me. She had a yellow coat with a long pink mane and tail, and blue eyes. She had on a light green dress with a red sash around her stomach which was supposed to make her look even thinner than she already was, or something like that. Fluttershy also had on a flower head wreath with white and red roses. Fluttershy had that little smile she always had, like she was afraid to admit she was happy. It wouldn't surprise me, she's scared of pretty much everything except furry woodland creatures.
I looked down at myself with my magenta eyes. I had a rainbow coloured mane and a cyan-blue coat, which usually meant that the dresses made for me were a flashy rainbow colour to go with my mane. This time though I wore a dark blue dress with a bit of gold at the edge, a golden lightning bolt shaped pin that held the dress together at the front, and a matching hat.
I asked Rarity, who designed all our dresses, including Twilight's, why she didn't go for a rainbow coloured dress again. She said something about there being an unwritten rule that we couldn't look prettier than Twilight as it was her day.
I made the mistake of asking if that meant that we couldn't be pretty at all. That sent her on a half hour rant about proper etiquette and unwritten rules and how we wouldn't want to take attention away from Twilight and a bunch of other stuff that made me regret I asked.
I noticed that Rarity was checking herself in the mirror, applying fake eyelashes.
I was tempted to point out the irony of putting makeup to herself after telling me we couldn't be prettier than Twilight. I probably would have if I was sure I would not get another lecture.
It was just me, Fluttershy and Rarity in the dressing room. Our other friends, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, were in another changing room. Twilight was in her own dressing room getting a manecut, hooficure, makeup, and I didn't even want to know what else.
I kind of felt bad for Twilight. I hated getting touched by other ponies and she was getting swarmed with stylists. I knew her well enough to know that she was probably not liking it either.
Pretty soon it was time for the coronation to start. I was next to Twilight as we were brought to a high up balcony in Canterlot Castle that overlooked most of Canterlot.
In front of us was Princess Celestia, Twilight's former teacher and the first Princess of Equestria. She and Twilight stepped forwards to the crowd of thousands below.
Princess Celestia cleared her throat. "We are gathered here in celebration of a momentous occasion. My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has done many extraordinary things while living in Ponyville. She even helped me reunite with my sister, Princess Luna. But today, Twilight Sparkle did something exceptional. She created new magic, proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned Equestria's newest princess. Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
I and Fluttershy and the rest of our friends went to join Twilight on the balcony.
I elbowed her.
"Maybe it isn't such a good idea..." Twilight said apprehensively, knowing exactly why I was trying to cue her.
"Come on, Twilight! You promised!" I urged her.
Twilight gave Princess Celestia a pleading look.
Princess Celestia just nodded in approval.
"We went over this, Twilight. If anything goes wrong, you still have your magic to bail you out," I reminded her.
Twilight took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing," she whispered before she jumped onto the balcony railing, teetering there precariously before finally jumping into open air.
She flapped her wings frantically before stiffening them out so she was gliding smoothly towards the ground.
The crowd cheered even louder than before, and I smiled.
As I watched her, I noticed the wind. A blast of air hit me and Twilight stopped gliding to flap hard for a moment before resuming her slow glide.
I got sort of uneasy as the second gust of wind hit my face and Twilight struggled to keep control.
I swallowed. Part of me wanted to fly out and make sure she was going to be alright, but Rarity's lecture held me back. Today would be a really bad day to steal Twilight's thunder.
I had almost convinced myself that she was going to be fine when a harsh gust hit her and she started to fall.
I stood there, paralyzed as her wings snapped back to her side and she fell even faster.
Just before she hit the ground, she vanished and reappeared back on the balcony.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight put on her best I'm-trying-to-not-go-crazy face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I only fell twenty feet and was inches away from hitting solid paved road! Why wouldn't I be fine?"
I put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight, you did fine for your first try. So what if you froze up? No big deal."
Twilight took a deep breath. "Yeah. No big deal."
The rest of the day passed quickly and I didn't see Twilight for the remainder. I asked around to find out that Fluttershy and Rarity had taken her away for 'diplomacy training.' I thought it was kind of weird to do that sort of thing now, but I didn't really know much about being diplomatic, so I just shrugged it off.
There was an evening gala held in Twilight's honour, and of course Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and I were all invited.
And of course, a lot of reporters showed up too. They asked her a bunch of stuff, but one thing kept coming back up: the fall. At least, that's what everypony started calling it after some mare called it that.
"Well, I just didn't know what to do when the wind knocked me off course like that and I froze up. The next thing I knew, I was falling," Twilight would say every time the fall came up in the questions.
"So, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do you plan on flying again?" one reporter asked.
Twilight Sparkle laughed nervously. "Um, maybe when I've had the time to read a little more on the subject."
Everypony else laughed, not realizing she was probably being completely honest in her second answer.
Still, there was something in her first answer that didn't feel right to me. It felt like something Twilight would say, sure, but how she said it didn't feel right.
When the gala died down a little, I followed Twilight as she snuck outside.
"Hey, Twilight," I said casually.
"Oh, hi, Rainbow," Twilight said, "what are you doing out here?"
"Well, I kinda wanted to ask you a question."
"I'm going to guess it's why I froze up?"
I shrugged. "Nah. I saw Fluttershy freeze up all the time in flight camp when were fillies. I told you, no big deal."
"Oh. Then what did you want to ask me?"
"Are you still planning on flying with me?"
Twilight's face fell. "I... no."
"Wait, why not?" I asked.
"It's just... I'm... look, I know you were really looking forwards to us being flying buddies, but I... realized I didn't like flying."
It might have been more convincing if she could look me in the eye when she said that.
"You're scared, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am."
"Why?"
"Rainbow, I fell twenty feet and was a few inches away from hitting concrete."
"So?" I asked.
"I could have gotten a concussion if it weren't for my magic saving me at the last second!"
"Your magic saved you," I pointed out, "what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is I was falling, and if I hadn't been able to do that teleportation spell properly, I would have gotten a trip to the hospital! Or maybe worse!"
I sighed. "Twilight, even if you did hit the ground, it would have just been a trip to the hospital to get a few bandages. What are you going to do, not fly for the rest of your life?"
"Yes! That's exactly what I'm going to do! If I need to get somewhere, I'll walk, or use magic. That's it. I'm not risking myself over flying. I... I'm not brave enough. Even if I was... I'm the laughingstock of Equestria," Twilight said as she burst into tears.
I had never seen Twilight like this in my life. Ever. She'd freaked out a few times, but she had never just started crying like that.
"Twilight..." I said.
"Just leave me alone, Rainbow."
I went to leave before stopping and looking over my shoulder. Twilight was still crying, trying to wipe her tears before anypony else could see her.
I felt helpless. I wanted to comfort her, but anything I said would just make her feel worse. Reluctantly, I went back inside to rejoin the gala.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, have you seen Twilight Sparkle anywhere?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, she's outside," I said.
"Oh, okay. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," I lied, "she just... wanted to be alone to think for a while. You know how Twilight is."
"Oh, okay then. It must be awfully stressful for her, especially with everypony talking about the fall."
That hit me like a ton of bricks. If I hadn't spent an entire week at the library trying to convince her, or if I hadn't elbowed her at the balcony, or I hadn't been so stupidly selfish, this never would have happened.
Twilight was the royal laughing-stock of Equestria, and it was all my fault.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, sensing my thoughts.
"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine. I mean, why wouldn't it be?" I laughed nervously, "Right?"
After the coronation it was back to the Wonderbolts Academy; the place where Equestria's up and coming top fliers go to train to be one of the Wonderbolts, the best team of stunt fliers in all of Equestria. Thunderlane, my partner, and I were finally back together after me being gone for half the week for Twilight's coronation.
Training was extra tough today. Usually Spitfire, our coach, was pretty hooves-off after the first week, only really checking in to see if we were pulling our weight or not while we did the routine exercises.
Today though, she was out on the piece of earth suspended a thousand feet in the air, watching all of us. At least, that's what she said. I think she was keeping a close eye on me.
She was extra tough today compared to usual.
That only made me work harder, but I still kept an eye to make sure I wasn't going too fast for my partner.
Lunch came around. I waited in line to get my fill, which was a huge helping of hay. Good. I was starving, and my entire body ached.
Thunderlane and I silently took a table in the corner of the cafeteria. Normally, I would be in the center of the room with everypony else except Thunderlane, who would sit in the corner no matter how many times I told him to sit with me. Eventually I just gave up and sat wherever he did.
If a lead pony and his or her wing pony didn't sit at the same table, the other athletes would think that pair wasn't working well together. It was an unwritten law that had to be obeyed.
I wasn't going to break that law. I had a reputation as the Academy's best flier to protect, even if Thunderlane didn't care about it.
"Was it just me, or was Spitfire harsh on us today?" Thunderlane asked conversationally.
"Spitfire was harsh on us today," I confirmed, "I think she wanted to make sure I was still up to snuff after being gone for a couple days."
"Good to know it wasn't just me," Thunderlane said in relief. "Hey, is it true that Princess Twilight completely screwed up flying at her coronation?"
I chewed on the hay an extra long time before swallowing. "It was a typical case of wing lock-up. No big deal."
"Rumours say Princess Twilight was really shaken up by her almost-crash. I heard that she said she wasn't going to fly again," Thunderlane continued, "that's almost kind of pathetic, even for a first time flier."
I slammed my hoof down on the table hard. Thunderlane jumped. "That princess you're talking about is my best friend. And she's got the potential to be a good flier, trust me. She just needs a lot more practice."
"Where is she going to get it?" Thunderlane asked.
"From me," I said.
Thunderlane arched an eyebrow. "You?"
"Yeah, me. I don't care if it takes years, I'm going to make Twilight into an amazing flier!"
I realized the entire cafeteria was silent.
"Oh, really?" Spitfire said from right behind me. "I give the odds of that happening from zero to never."
I turned around to find not only Spitfire, but the entire cafeteria listening in to the conversation.
"I will teach Twilight how to fly! By the time I'm done, she'll be Wonderbolt material!" I said.
Spitfire smirked. "I look forward to having Princess Twilight Sparkle in the Wonderbolt Academy one day. In fact, come and visit my office when you get her to that level, Rainbow Dash. I'm looking forward to it."
Before I knew it, it was time to head home for the day. I was too tired to do anything, even uphold the promise I made to the entirety of the Wonderbolts Academy.
I flew up to my house, which hovered fifty feet off the ground, and was made of clouds. My house was completely inaccessible to non-pegasi. In fact, my mailbox had to be anchored on the ground right below it.
Still, having to stretch my wings a little bit was nothing compared to the privacy. If it didn't know how to fly, it wasn't going to be knocking on my door anytime soon, which was perfect for when I wanted to read in peace.
I went to my cloud bookshelf, which had the entirety of the Daring Do book series on the top shelf, along with Train Smarter, Not Harder and a bunch of copies of Flight magazine right below them.
I used to not have a bookshelf, or any of those books. I used to think that reading was for ponies way smarter than I was. It was Twilight who got me hooked on reading when I busted my wing bad and had nothing better to do at the hospital.
I had said some pretty nasty things about ponies who read, which really came back to bite me when I grabbed the first Daring Do book in the series and realized I loved it. Twilight runs the local library, but it was pretty humiliating for me to take out the library copy until she told me that she was just glad I liked to read.
I grabbed the first Daring Do book, the one that got me hooked on reading, and just stared at the cover.
To be honest, I used to be afraid to read. It was for ponies way smarter than me and what would they think if they saw the athlete trying to do the stuff they did?
But Twilight showed me that I was just scared for no reason, that nopony would laugh if I sat down to read, and that I'd been locking myself out of something I loved to do.
And I couldn't shake the feeling that this time, the roles were reversed.
I put the Daring Do book back on the shelf.
I was going to teach Twilight how to fly.
I was going to tell her that it was okay to be a little clumsy, and that nopony would laugh at her.
I was going to show Twilight the thrill and sheer awesomeness of flying, even if it killed me.
I made it to the library pretty quickly. Even if Twilight wasn't taking care of the library, she lived on the second floor of the same building. So unless she was outside, I'd find her here.
I landed in front of the library and walked through the wooden door.
Twilight was sitting there in the middle of the floor, absorbed in a book. The moment she saw me, she shut the book and quickly hid it behind her.
"Hey, Twilight," I said, "whatcha readin'?"
"Well, a book," Twilight said.
I rolled my eyes at Captain Obvious. "Yeah, I know that. What's it called?"
"Um," Twilight laughed nervously, "can't remember what it was?"
Twilight didn't remember the name of the book she was just reading. Something was up.
I started slowly hovering upwards. "That must have been a really terrible book if you can't even remember its name. Usually I get a title, an authour, and maybe a publisher if it was really good."
"I guess it wasn't all that great then," Twilight said with her best fake grin.
"Or, you're a really bad liar," I said before I dive-bombed Twilight from the ceiling. She flinched as I whizzed past her and grabbed the book in one smooth motion, before stopping near the ceiling at the other end of the room efortlessly.
I read the cover out loud. "Flying for Dummies, by Thorny Woods."
Twilight's horn flared a light purple, and the book yanked itself from my hooves and floated next to her.
"So, does this mean you wanna give flying another go?" I asked.
"No!" Twilight snapped.
I tilted my head a little. "Then why were you reading Flying For Dummies?"
"Because I was curious about the subject. I still don't like flying," Twilight said sullenly.
I landed right in front of her, making sure her eyes were on me. "You're still scared of flying."
"Fine! I'm scared! And I'm still never going to fly!"
"Just give it another shot, there won't even be anypony else this time-"
"No!" Twilight yelled right into my ear.
"Come on, Twilight..."
"No means no, Rainbow! I'm not going to fly!"
I stopped. Those were the exact words she said to me when I first tried to convince her to take a test flight at her coronation.
And then the fall happened.
What would happen if the fall happened again? Would she be mad at me? Would she hate me? Would she not want to be around me anymore?
I wasn't sure, but as much as I hated it, I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
I dropped my head. "All right, Twilight. If you don't want to, I'm not going to force you."
"I told you, no means... wait, what did you say?"
"I said, I'm not going to force you. If you don't want to fly, then I'm not gonna waste my time. I got other stuff I could be doing," I said as I left.
Twilight didn't try to stop me.
Thursday and Friday was routine for me. Get up early, get to the Wonderbolts Academy, train, have lunch, train some more, go home, unwind.
Both days there were some snickers at Twilight failing at flying and some quips were made about me training Twilight. The latter I just ignored. I could take a joke, even at my expense.
The former I shut down fast. No matter what, I wasn't going to have ponies gossiping and spreading nasty rumours about my best friend. I could take a little joshing, but no one messed with Twilight if I had anything to say about it.
On Saturday, I was bored.
I never really had anything planned, so I usually just flew around Ponyville and played pranks, or stayed at home and read.
Going out didn't really have any appeal for me, so I just tried to read something.
It didn't work. I kept thinking about Twilight, which just made me more and more worked up.
Forget it. I was going out for a quick joy-flight.
I bent my knees, tensed myself, and then jumped off the side of my house. The wind whipped all around me as the ground rushed up to meet me. At the last second, I pulled up, my nose inches from the ground and the rush of air around me scattering a dandelion's seeds.
I smiled. This was more like it. No instructor, no Twilight, no thinking. It was just me, and the sky.
I ascended about a hundred feet, my wings flapping like crazy to get me up that high, even with my momentum from the dive still helping me.
I stopped when I was high enough to look over the small town of Ponyville in the distance, and found a nearby cloud.
I braced by back legs against it, like a swimmer trying to get an extra boost off a pool wall.
I coiled my muscles as tightly as I could, and then sprung from the cloud in an all-out sprint.
I dived once again, but this time only until I was in plain sight of anypony in Ponyville, and then transitioned to a gigantic loop-dee-loop, and then a figure eight.
Pretty soon, I was putting on my very own air show, pulling out every single trick I'd learned, practiced, and mastered. From rolls to spins, you name it, I did it.
Finally, I landed. Sweat covered my entire body and I was breathing hard as everypony applauded for me.
I took a bow like an actor in a curtain call. "Thank you, thank you!"
While they kept stomping their hooves in applause, I glimpsed Twilight in the crowd. She vanished before I could do anything.
After the crowd dispersed, Fluttershy walked up to me. "That was amazing, Rainbow Dash."
"Of course it was amazing," I said, "I did it!"
"Are you alright, though? That was a longer performance than you usually put on. Maybe you should get something to drink, you don't want to be dehydrated!" Fluttershy said in concern.
I was going to protest that I was fine, that I practiced to do this stuff all the time, but my mouth was dry and my knees felt shaky. Maybe I did overdo it a little.
"I'll buy you a milkshake from Sugar Cube Corner," Fluttershy said enticingly, "my treat."
That broke my resolve. "Thanks, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy smiled. "You're welcome, Rainbow Dash."
Inside Sugar Cube Corner, which was a bakery that also happened to made a mean milkshake, we found Rarity in line right ahead of us.
"Hi, Rarity," Fluttershy greeted her.
Rarity glanced over her shoulder in surprise. "Hello, girls."
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I was just ordering myself some some cupcakes. Whatever is wrong with that?" Rarity asked defensively.
"You just seem like the kind of pony who would avoid Sugar Cube Corner," I commented.
"Well, I don't frequent here, but I do come once in a while," Rarity said.
"Oh," I said, "I kinda thought you would be way too worried over gaining weight to eat unhealthy stuff."
Rarity visibly ground her teeth. "This is coming from the pegasus who wants to be an athlete? A profession known for good dietary habits?"
"Hey, I burn the calories in an hour of being at the Wonderbolt Academy," I protested, "you... sit in front of a sewing machine and sew stuff all day."
"Girls," Fluttershy intervened quietly, "the line ahead of us is almost empty."
Rarity and I looked ahead to see that everypony in front of us had already taken their orders and left.
"Would you like to go and talk with us for a while at the cafe tables? I was treating Rainbow to a milkshake," Fluttershy invited Rarity.
Rarity shot a dirty look at me. "Oh, don't worry about that, darling. I'll treat you both, if you wouldn't mind me joining you."
"Oh, that would be great. Thank you, Rarity," Fluttershy said.
"You're very welcome, dear," Rarity said as we reached the shop counter.
As promised, Rarity ordered a dozen cupcakes for herself and three milkshakes for us. Fluttershy and Rarity took vanilla. I took chocolate.
"So, that was quite a performance you put on, Rainbow Dash. What inspired it?" Rarity asked after we sat down at a cafe table outside, and tucked her box of cupcakes under the table.
I shurgged. "I just felt like blowing off a little steam, ya know?"
"Don't you get to do that at the Wonderbolt Academy?" Fluttershy asked.
"Wonderbolt Academy is for training. That was just flying for fun. Just wanted to take my mind off things for a little while," I said.
"Like Twilight, for instance?" Rarity asked nonchalantly.
I nearly spat out my mouthful of milkshake.
"That obvious, huh?" I said when I swallowed.
"Yes. It is," Rarity said matter-of-factly.
"Have you tried convincing her yet?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yep," I sighed, "and not going to try again."
Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged worried glances.
"What?" I asked.
"It... well, it just isn't like you to give up so easily," Fluttershy said.
"Yeah, well, I have my reasons," I said.
Fluttershy and Rarity went silent.
"What?"
Before Rarity or Fluttershy could answer, I heard talking coming from a nearby table.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle is a coward," one pony said in disgust, with a slight Canterlot accent.
"I guess the title has already made her soft," another sighed, "the Twilight I used to know walking around town wouldn't have given up. She would've just gotten up, smiled, and tried again."
"Humph. I knew from the start she wasn't fit to be anything but a lowly librarian," the first one said.
I got up from my seat.
"Just ignore them, Rainbow," Fluttershy said.
I marched over to where the two ponies were sitting and loomed over them.
The first pony looked at me. "May I help you?"
"You were talking about Twilight. She's not a coward," I snarled.
"She might not be now, but who knows?" the second pony said.
"She's not a coward," I repeated.
"Humph," the first pony said.
"If she's not a coward, why do I not see her flying around? Sure, I see you, but no princess," the second pony remarked.
"Who are you to be talking about her behind her back?" I thundered, "if you've got a problem with what Twilight does, then take it up with her yourself! Or are you the coward?"
The first pony leaned so far back I thought he was going to fall out of his chair.
The second pony actually did, and got back up with as much dignity as she could.
"Come on," the second pony said, "I don't need to be talking to the crazy friends of the princess."
The two strangers got out of there as fast as they could, leaving behind two half-eaten muffins. I threw them in the trash before coming back to my friends.
"Rude, but nevertheless effective," Rarity commented as I sat down.
"What? You just wanted me to ignore them?" I snapped.
"Well, I certainly would have," Rarity said, "but I would be lying if I said I didn't take some satisfaction in seeing them put in their place."
"Still," Fluttershy frowned, "we shouldn't be arguing with them. They are kind of right, in a way."
"Whose side are you on, anyway?" I asked irritably.
"I'm with Fluttershy on this one," Rarity agreed, "they were rather rude, but they do have a good point. Twilight should learn how to fly. It would be a wonderful experience in conquering her fears. In fact, I'm rather surprised you haven't convinced her to take a go at it."
"I did. Back at the coronation. Look where that got her," I said as I sipped my milkshake.
"Rainbow, what happened wasn't your fault," Fluttershy said gently.
"Thanks, Fluttershy, but it was. I was so busy being selfish and bothering Twilight that I made her screw up in front of all of Equestria. I'm not gonna make that mistake twice. I'm not going to teach her how to fly unless she walks up and begs me to do it. For her sake," I said.
"It was an accident," Fluttershy insisted, "the wind knocked her off-course, and she was scared. There was no way you could've seen it coming."
"It was an accident that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so selfish," I said, looking miserably into the now half-empty milkshake.
"You're not selfish, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy reassured me, "you're just the opposite. Wanting to share what you love isn't selfish. You're always there to protect your friends, even when it's hard."
"You can be a little... inconsiderate of other ponies feelings, but you always mean well," Rarity added.
I drank the last gulp of my milkshake before it finally sank into my brain.
"Wait a minute, are you two saying you want me to teach Twilight how to fly?"
"Yes," Fluttershy said, "we do."
"But... why? Fluttershy, you hated flight camp! And Rarity, you're a unicorn! You don't even have wings!"
"It's true that I hated flight camp," Fluttershy admitted, "but it was all the teasing that made me hate it, and even then, after we became friends it wasn't so bad. The flying itself I didn't really mind all that much, even if I was the worst at it."
"And as for me," Rarity interjected, "I'm worried about her. Her reputation has been... less than stellar ever since that incident, but all the gossip I hear is about her not trying again, not that she didn't succeed the first time.
"And besides, even if that weren't the case, Twilight can't run away from her wings forever. They are attached to her back, after all."
"You have to teach Twilight how to fly," Fluttershy insisted, "you just have to."
"All right. I'll teach her... but I don't think I'm going to convince her this time," I said.
"Surely there is something you can tell her that will make her listen," Rarity said.
Fluttershy looked at me. "What about telling her how you feel?"
"Oh... no way," I said, "no way am I gonna be all sappy and touchy-feely."
"Please?" Fluttershy begged, "for Twilight's sake?"
"She'll just laugh at me!" I protested.
"Darling, take a moment to think about this," Rarity said, "when has Twilight ever laughed at you?"
I thought about it, and I couldn't come up with anything.
"Exactly," Rarity said.
"All right," I sighed, "you win. I'll try it."
Instead of flying, I walked to Twilight's library, trying to postpone for as long as possible what I had promised I would do.
What if she did laugh at me? Or just never let me talk to her at all? Or, she... did something really bad. I wasn't sure what, but I knew that this could only end in disaster.
Then I remembered how she acted when she found out I loved reading. She didn't laugh then, instead she seemed thrilled that she'd found somepony to share her favourite thing with.
She wouldn't laugh at me. That wasn't something Twilight would ever do to me. I picked up my pace, going from a meandering walk to a quick trot.
I went inside the library to find Twilight once again, still reading Flying For Dummies.
Twilight visibly deflated once she saw me. “Hey, Rainbow Dash.”
“Hey, Twilight. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Is this about flying?”
“Well, no. I mean, yeah, kind of.”
Twilight sighed. “I thought you told me you weren't going to force me into this.”
“Yeah, well. Fluttershy and Rarity are backing me up on this one.”
"Oh, really?” Twilight said, “where are they, then?”
I just realized that I didn't think of bringing Fluttershy or Rarity along with me. For all their hopes that I'd teach Twilight to fly, they were sure leaving all the work on my shoulders.
"Doesn't matter,” I said, “the point is, they said so to me.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Twilight said in a tone that meant she wasn't entirely convinced.
“Look, I just wanted to say that I know how it feels to get laughed at for being a bad flier.”
Twilight snorted, like she was trying not to laugh.
“I'm serious! I used to be as bad as Fluttershy! Why do you think they used to call me 'Rainbow Crash?'”
Twilight burst out laughing.
“I'm glad you think it's funny,” I said coldly.
I exited the library without another word, slamming the door shut behind me and flying as fast as my wings could take me.
I was in my house, reading Daring Do when I heard Twilight call to me from below. "Rainbow Dash!"
I pushed the book closer to my face.
"Rainbow? I know you're up there."
I set down the book and scooped up a bit of cloud off the floor, shaping them into a pair of fluffy earplugs.
"Rainbow, I'm sorry! I'll do anything, just talk to me!"
I dropped the earplugs and opened the door, glaring down at her from above. "Anything?"
"Anything!" Twilight cried frantically.
"Then go and knock on my front door. Don't worry, I'll wait."
"But your house is fifty feet off the ground!" Twilight protested.
I smirked. "Exactly."
I slammed the door, and the looked out through the peephole for a few minutes.
Twilight didn't show up at the door, which meant she was either trying to get up here with her wings, or, the most likely option, just went home.
Good. I wasn't going to let her off easy by letting her use her magic to get at my front door.
I hopped back on my bed, shoved the earplugs into my ears, and kept reading.
About five minutes later, I heard a scream.
I ran to the door, opened it, and looked down.
On the ground was the crumpled form of Twilight. She wasn't bleeding, but she wasn't moving, either.
I ran into the house to get a medical kit I stashed in the house and an ice pack, and then rushed to Twilight's side.
"Twilight!" I yelled, "are you alright?"
"My head hurts..." she moaned.
I applied the ice pack and took out the medical kit, only to realize I had no idea what to do.
"Rainbow... the hospital..."
I took a moment to calm myself down. "Right. The hospital. I knew that. Can you stay here by yourself?"
Twilight nodded slightly. "It's better if I don't move. Read it somewhere in a book."
I swallowed, and turned to fly.
I couldn't resist looking back at Twilight with guilt. I had done this to her, and now I was ditching her.
Some friend I was.
The next day, I headed to the Ponyville Hospital.
I saw that Fluttershy and Rarity were walking out of the glass doors of the hospital.
"Are visiting hours over yet? It can't be! It's not even noon yet!"
"Rainbow, the visiting hours of the hospital are from eight in the morning until ten at night," Rarity reminded me, "Twilight was just suffering from a minor head injury. It was nothing serious, so we didn't stay long."
"Oh, yeah. I knew that."
"She should have been discharged by now, though," Fluttershy said doubtfully.
My heart stopped for a second.
"But, the doctors want to be extra sure before they let her go," Rarity added.
I exhaled. "Yeah, just a minor head wound. I get those all the time, and I'm out of the hospital in three hours, tops! Twilight's just a wimp."
"Rainbow, you were flying to the hospital faster than I had ever seen you go before, and by the time you got there, you couldn't get out a coherent sentence," Rarity said flatly.
"T-that's not the point!"
Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged all-knowing smiles.
"Twilight was wondering where you were," Fluttershy said, the smile still on her face, "I think she really wants to see you."
It was pretty easy finding Twilight's room.
Ponyville was a small town, after all, so the hospital wasn't all that big.
Plus, you break your wings more than a few times and the doctors start knowing you by name.
In fact, the desk attendant, Nurse Redheart, joked that she was surprised that I was visiting the hospital, not checking in. She gave me the number to Twilight's room anyways.
I twisted the knob and walked in. I found Twilight, with a large bandage wrapped around her head, doing what she always does: reading. I looked at the cover. Flying For Dummies, by Thorny Woods.
I waited for her to notice me. I had to pretend to cough to get her attention.
"Oh, hi, Rainbow. Didn't hear you come in," Twilight said.
I meant to not be such a worrywart, but the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "are you all right?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Rainbow, it's just a minor head injury. I've had a door hit me in the face twice, got mauled by a swarm of angry hornets, fell down a staircase face-first, had a flowerpot, an anvil, a wagon filled with hay, and a piano dropped on my head all in the same day. I think I'll live."
"Wow. When was that?"
"Long time ago. But that's not the point. The point is, after falling on my head from fifty feet in the air, I'm not really scared of flying anymore." Twilight sighed. "I guess I wasn't really scared of flying in the first place. I was just making up excuses because I didn't succeed the first time. I'm sorry that I took it out on you."
"And... I'm sorry for being impatient," I said, "it wasn't cool of me to practically force you to fly on your coronation, where you had so much else going on."
"So, I know this is a bit off-topic," Twilight said nervously, "but if you still don't mind, once they discharge me from the hospital, would you like to fly with me?"
This was the best moment of my entire life. "Yes! When do ya wanna start?"
"Actually," a doctor said from behind me, "she should be fully recovered by now. You could start right now."
"Yes!" I exclaimed again, "oh, man, I'm gonna teach ya how to do dives, loop-dee-loops, how to fly so fast the entire world becomes a blur-"
"Can we just start with the basics, first?"
"Oh. Yeah. We'll start with the basics."
