Mirror Blue

Chapters

1 - Brief History of the Best Young Failure
2 - Thunderwings
3 - Something Goes Horribly Wrong
4 - The Sonic Rainboom Pony
5 - Mirror Blue

1 - Brief History of the Best Young Failure

Applejack pawed the ground. “What’s that face for? You telling me you live in Ponyville and don’t like apple pie?”

Soarin’ shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“Well okay ain’t good enough. This here pie’s gotta be just right for the Summer Sun Celebration, and you’re not leaving till it is.”

“Aw come on Applejack, I need to clear the skies.”

“And that’ll take you what, ten seconds?”

It was true, but Soarin’ would take any excuse at this point to avoid eating any more than he felt like. Desserts were great after a race and all, but he’d been sitting here for who knows how long eating nothing but pie, all because he ate a whole pie that one time on the opening day of cider season.

He mashed a scrap of crust on the table into little pieces, pushed them around, crushed those, and pushed the pie dust around some more. He glanced at the fresh apple treat in front of him and the steam rising from the gap where a single slice was missing. “It’s good. Can I go now?”

“Good ain’t good enough!”

“Okay, I lied.” Without hesitation Soarin’ plowed his mouth right into the pie pan and made a spectacle of himself. “Mmm. It’s so good. Please somepony, please save me from this delicious pie. Nom nom nom,” Soarin’ mumbled through mouthfuls of dessert. Gobs of apple filling dangled from his mouth and smacked onto the table.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get somepony else to try the pie.” Applejack sighed. “And we haven’t even gotten to the fritters yet.”

The chain of events that morning brought Soarin’ to the Everfree Forest, on the other side of a broken bridge he was supposed to tie up for the ponies on the other side. A Shadowbolt blocked his path. Now he had to choose between becoming a Shadowbolt leader and helping out the group of ponies across the rift, some of which he barely knew, and others he didn’t exactly get along with. It was not a difficult decision to make. The rope to the bridge was in his mouth. All he had to do was talk.

“You,” Soarin’ said. “I choose you.” The bridge between the five mares and the foreboding castle tumbled into the mist. There was no way Twilight Sparkle would make it to the Elements of Harmony now.

The Shadowbolt emissary’s eyes shone with malicious glee. Her smooth voice beckoned. “Very well… Captain.” The word rolled off her tongue. “Now come with us.”

Soarin’ snorted and put a hoof to his mouth trying to hold it in. Chuckling slipped around his pursed lips and it couldn’t be stopped: he burst into laughter. “Oh. Oh man, the look on your face. Really? Like, seriously, ‘Them or us,’ come on! It’s just a rope bridge. And Captain of the Shadowbolts, a team I’ve never even heard of? I’ve got my sights set so much higher.” He prodded the bewildered pegasus with his forehoof. “I doubt you’re even real ponies. Are you shadows or something? You’re kinda cold and clammy.” He poked at the Shadowbolt with curiosity.

The midnight mare snapped out of its surprise and pushed Soarin’s hoof away.

Soarin’ grinned. “Fine, keep your secret. I’m going to get that bridge back now, and I’m bringing the others with me. If you’re still here when I get back, I’ll sock you one.” He dove into the chasm, ignoring the frustrated snarls from the main Shadowbolt.

A few seconds later the stallion emerged from the mist carrying the loose half of the bridge in his mouth.

“What the hay, Soarin!” Applejack complained. “We thought y’all had left us here. We were gonna send Fluttershy after you.”

Fluttershy cowered behind Rarity, her hooves glued to the ground.

Soarin’ waved a wing. “Pff. I’d never leave my friends hanging. Give me another second to tie this up. Be right back.”

Soarin’ finished telling his story to his weather team. “And that was how we trounced Nightmare Moon. Apparently I’m the Element of Loyalty. No, I don’t really get what that means either. There are these gems that have power in them, and when you wear them around your neck they make your magic stronger.”

Thunderlane looked skeptical. “So I guess you’re a hero now or something? Don’t you wonder why you’re the only dude in that group?”

Soarin’s ears swiveled forward, because he hadn’t thought about it enough to realize that was the case. A perplexed frown crossed his face.

Cloudchaser jabbed Soarin’ with her wing. “One stallion to go around? Must be so tough,” she said sarcastically.

Soarin’ pushed back at the lavender mare. “Come on guys, they’re my friends.”

Thunderlane huffed. “So are we! I don’t see why we don’t get to be superheroes too.” Thunderlane did not understand why six new, loosely bound friends should get glory instead of a solid weather team. Plus, until last week nopony had even heard of this so-called Twilight Sparkle.

Soarin’ stuck his tongue out. “Well, you know, life’s not fair and all that stuff. It doesn’t matter anyway because we gave the Elements to Princess Celestia. Now come on, we’ve got some rain scheduled for this afternoon. I’m going to go check on Sweet Apple Acres to see if we need to bring it out that way. See ya with the weather crew in a few hours.”

The first member of the Apple Family Soarin’ happened to spot from the air was Applejack. She walked alongside Twilight. Soarin’ prepared to land and overheard their conversation about the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.

“And I have extra tickets,” Twilight finished saying.

Soarin’ dropped in, landing right between Applejack and Twilight. “Did you say have another ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala? Can I go with you?”

The two mares looked at him.

It took a few seconds for Soarin’ to realize why they were staring. “Oh, not like a date or anything. I just meant with you. Go with you. To the Gala. As friends.”

Twilight blinked. “I knew that. But Spike says the Gala is dumb and gross. Why would you want to go?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to go? Spike’s just a kid, Twilight.”

Spike folded his arms and harrumphed. “I’m not a kid,” he mumbled.

Soarin’ back into the air. “Do you realize that every pony who is any pony will be there – and that means the Wonderbolts! This could be my chance to show them my moves. Maybe not even that, maybe just meet with them! It could be the start to the career I’ve always dreamed of. Please Twi, I’ve been trying to get in forever. Pleeeease.” The stallion begged, hanging upside-down and flapping in front of the unicorn’s face.

“I’m sorry Soarin’,” she replied. “Applejack already said she was interested in the ticket to help with her business, and—”

“And I claimed it first,” Applejack finished. “So there. Besides Soarin’, you never take anything seriously. You’d probably forget all about the Wonderbolts the minute you saw the buffet line.”

Twilight started to back away as Soarin’ and Applejack locked eyes. “Not serious? You can’t take a break AJ! You’ve probably never had a day of fun in your life.”

“Have too.”

Soarin’ prodded the farmer with a hoof. “I thought you were supposed to be honest.”

Applejack mashed her forehead against Soarin’s. “You callin’ me a liar, hay for brains?”

“No. I’m saying you’re too serious, Applebutt.”

Twilight squeezed in and forced them apart. “Enough! I don’t want to give the ticket to either of you seeing you fight like that. I’ll just keep it until someone comes to their senses.” She gave each of them a deliberate glare and stomped off.

Applejack and Soarin’ zipped over to a tree stump to settle the score with a hoof wrestle. Even after Princess Celestia sent new tickets so the whole group could go, Soarin’ refused to admit he’d lost to Applejack.

Tickets to the gala meant Soarin’ had two good chances now to impress the Wonderbolts.

Soarin’ sighed and decided to tell it to his friend straight. “Fluttershy, you suck at cheering.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

It was true: they’d been practicing for at least an hour, and Fluttershy’s cheering was still at the same level as her indoor quiet voice. In fact, now that Soarin’ thought about it, her indoor quiet voice was all she had. Maybe he should have started by teaching her basic talking.

“Never mind," he said. "I’m just glad I’ll have someone to support me at the Best Young Flyer Competition since Thunderlane and Cloudchaser have storm duty that day. I really wish the others could come too.”

Fluttershy ducked behind her mane. “Um, well, about that.”

Soarin’ didn’t hear her. “It won’t matter if I can’t get this dang move right! I need to try harder.” He took off.

Twilight came over the hill at a trot. “Hey Fluttershy, I heard Soarin’ screaming and making a bunch of noise over here. Is everything okay?”

Fluttershy smiled. “You didn’t hear my cheering? We were practicing. Er, were. Soarin’ is flying now.” The stallion zoomed across the sky. “He’s tried to do Thunderwings a hundred times now. This is important to him, but I don’t think I can cheer loud enough to help.”

“Thunderwings?” Twilight tipped her head. “What’s that?”

“It’s so amazing. There’s a big burst of light in the sky and then these golden wings that spread out. But… I’ve only seen it once. Most ponies say it’s a legend.”

Twilight paced in a circle. “If your cheering alone won’t cut it, maybe all of us should go to the competition. It shouldn’t be difficult to take the hot air balloon up past the clouds.”

“You won’t be able to get very close in the balloon. The area is a no-fly zone during the Best Young Flyer Competition.”

“Then there’s probably a spell that can help us. Come on, let’s get the others!”

Soarin’ and Fluttershy arrived in Cloudsdale ahead of the group, just in time to run into a trio of mean-spirited male colleagues from flight school. The leader spotted them and jeered. “Hey look guys! It’s Snorin’ and his beautiful bride.”

“Yeah,” the second guy said. The forelocks of his mane covered his eyes. “Why don’t you two like… get married or something.”

“Snorin’s probably so boring he puts her to sleep!” The three bullies broke into raucous laughter. Soarin’ rolled his eyes.

Underneath a furious blush Fluttershy looked annoyed. “I – I – I think you must be mistaking me for someone else,” she chirped. “Soarin’, I didn’t know you had a special somepony.”

“I don’t,” Soarin’ said. “Anyway, just ignore these guys. They work in cloud construction. That’s why I decided to join the weather patrol even though my specialty is cloud manipulation. Don’t take a job where you can’t get along with your coworkers.”

“Hey guys, look, they’re so in love they’re not even paying attention to us! Fine, whatever Snorin’. Bet your routine’s gonna be a real snoozer! Hah!” The three took off laughing.

“Ugh,” Soarin’ groaned. “I can’t stand those guys. Sorry about that Fluttershy.” The stallion’s train of thought was cut short by the strangest thing flying towards them. “Woah, is that a huge butterfly?”

Fluttershy turned around to see. “Oh, no, that’s Rarity. Twilight was trying to do a spell but it was too difficult to repeat. Everyone else can walk on the clouds, though.”

Soarin’ stared at Rarity’s unique wings. He didn’t know there was a spell like that. He also did not know there was a spell that could cause so much trouble. Rarity was obsessed with her wings, and so was everypony else. They were so beautiful that the unicorn decided to enter in the Best Young Flyer Competition at the last minute. Now Soarin’ got to deal with his stress about the competition and worry about winning a beauty contest against Rarity at the same time.

Soarin’ pasted his entry number over his cutie mark twice, once on the left flank and once on the right. Twenty-three, the very last entry. When his turn finally came, Rarity emerged from the dressing room. “Rarity is ready!” she said aloud.

Soarin’ scanned her costume. “Er, are you sure? You’ve got something on your face. All over it, actually.”

Rarity was too self-absorbed to hear Soarin’s confused remark. The flight coordinator, an unsympathetic mare, tapped her clipboard. “Look you two, there’s only one slot left. Figure out who’s going out or both go out at once. I don’t care.”

Rarity drifted toward the arena. “See you in the sky, darling. Oh, and I changed the music.”

“While you were in the dressing room?” Again, Rarity was too far gone to even listen.

Soarin’ was ticked. He thought his friends were coming to support him, not compete against him. He had half a mind to let Rarity go out alone so he could see if the Wonderbolts were more interested in looks than skill.

That was a dumb idea. He’d been practicing for weeks.

Soarin’ burst into the arena fast enough to leave a perfectly pony shaped hole, wings flared, in every single one of the clouds lined up in front of the arena entrance. He banked hard and swooped in a large circle around the ring, gaining speed, before he aimed for the receding holes in the row of clouds. He raced back through the holes again with such precision that not a single cloud puff broke off.

Soarin’ transitioned into a circular whirlwind pattern around the first cloud. The wind from his flight caused the cloud to rotate and then spin. He zipped to the next cloud and made it spin, making his way down the row. He ignored the feeling that he was going to fail. He would do this. He would fly.

The aspiring Wonderbolt shot past Rarity. More speed. Higher. The sound of wind whooshed through his ears. The audience gasped in awe.

Then they gasped in terror.

“She’s falling!” somepony shouted.

Rarity’s piercing screams drowned the spectators out. Soarin’ whirled around to see and Rarity was nowhere – no, she was a falling speck. The colors of the wings that had defined her were gone.

Soarin’ charged for the ground. He’d done this before. He could make this. It was the same as the time all those years ago when Fluttershy fell from Cloudsdale.

Below, two streaks of blue and gold shot from the stands toward Rarity. Everything was a blur in Soarin’s field of view. He threw one forehoof forward and felt air resistance curling around his feet. Rarity's thrashing knocked out the two Wonderbolts who went to help. Their wings weren’t moving.

Soarin’ couldn’t get past that barrier in front of him. The ground was coming up too quickly. He wasn’t going to make it. If he didn’t pull up now he’d hit the ground at this speed. Luna save them all. One… two…

The impact crunched into Soarin’s back. An explosion of ringing metallic distortion sang over the end of his life.

2 - Thunderwings

Soarin’ opened his eyes and saw the rainbow. It was everywhere, spreading out over the sky in flame. Strands of it were caught under his forehooves. He seemed to be flying, despite the fact his wings were being crushed down by something on top of him.

“Awwww yeah!” the thing under him yelled. Soarin’ nearly jumped out of his wings. He was on a pony. The silk under his hooves wasn’t a rainbow at all, it was a mane.

Rainbow Dash. Oh Thunder, it was Rainbow Dash.

The ridiculous clump of ponies on her back slowed as the stadium grew closer. “I didn’t think I was going to have to rescue you too,” Rainbow Dash huffed with exertion. “Almost there…”

The stands roared with applause. Pegasi rushed to unload the two injured Wonderbolts. Soarin’ squeezed out from under them. Rarity must have kicked Spitfire in the head especially hard: a black blotch was starting to spread over her jawline. Soarin’ looked away and drifted to a patch of unoccupied clouds near the base of the stadium, ignoring the falling confetti and streamers stuck in his mane. It took the announcer and Princess Celestia a moment to get the crowd under control before they could set the golden winged laurels on the Best Young Flyer’s head, a gray mare who'd performed earlier.

Soarin’ watched without really seeing from his spot on the sidelines. His shock about what had just happened was interrupted by that cocky, defiant voice.

“Hey, you’re way too fast for your own good. You know the ground’ll hit you if you fly at it like that. Believe me, I know,” Rainbow Dash said.

Soarin’ gaped. Was he dreaming? He blinked. She was still standing there, clad in lightning yellow and sky blue, haloed by rainbow mist left over from the legendary Sonic Rainboom. Despite the ponies in the stands calling out to her and telling her how awesome she was, she was looking at him.

He laughed in spite of himself. “I wasn’t trying to hit the ground. It’s too easy a target.”

The Wonderbolt’s eyebrows arched in amusement. “What’s your name? I’m Rainbow Dash by the way, in case you didn’t know. Sometimes ponies forget each of us have names besides ‘That Wonderbolt.’”

“Soarin’.”

“Now don’t get me wrong,” she said, “I love winning, but sometimes it’s not the winner you have to watch out for. I didn’t see anybody else dive off the stands when that mare fell.”

“Oh, it was nothing.” He wasn’t sure what else to say.

Dash grinned and turned to leave. “You know, for a second back there I thought you were going to…” She shook her head. “No, never mind.” She spread her wings. “Well, gotta jet. See ya around.”

Soarin’ relived that conversation in his head dozens of times. Direct compliments from a Wonderbolt. But no, no matter how many times he replayed it, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to be a Wonderbolt.

Now he only had one chance to make up for losing the Best Young Flier Competition: the Grand Galloping Gala.

Thunderlane kicked a cloud out of Soarin’s path. “Hey, that was mine!” Soarin' said.

“Too slow. You’ve had your head in the clouds lately, Soarin’.”

“Yeah, but that’s what happens when you’re on weather patrol.”

Cloudchaser shook her head. “Ha ha. Very funny. Now would you two get back to work? My fur is getting soaked.”

They gathered the rainclouds together at the edge of town to take them out. Soarin’ and Thunderlane kicked away the top level. Cloudchaser chose to work on the second level so they would finish faster. The gray puffs Soarin’ was in charge of rained all over the mare below. Her drenched spiky mane plastered all over her face.

Thunderlane kicked a cloud so the thunderbolt it shot zoomed past Cloudchaser. “You could come up here with us, you know!” he shouted.

“You guys talk too much.”

Soarin’ shrugged and aimed a back kick at another cloud. A black blur that was Thunderlane weaved in and out of the stormy mass, trying to keep the sky above Cloudchaser clear. It was like watching a dance. For every move Cloudchaser made, Thunderlane was her shadow above. Soarin’ tried to ignore them and get his job done.

When they finished, Cloudchaser shook her mane out and got Thunderlane all wet. “Now we can talk,” she said.

Water droplets slid down the black stallion’s unimpressed face. “Great.”

The mare ignored Thunderlane. “How’s things with Twilight?” she asked Soarin’.

“Good, actually. It’s kind of funny how one pony brought me together with ponies I’ve known most of my life but never really felt like I was friends with. Pinkie Pie’s not as annoying as I thought she was. Even AJ and I don’t argue as much as we used to.”

“That’s weird,” Thunderlane commented. “I could’ve sworn you two were bitter rivals or something from the way you’re getting into competitions all the time.”

“We still do, but the energy’s different now. I’m not sure how to explain it. I don’t feel like I need to win all the time. It’s more fun.”

“Huh,” Cloudchaser said. “Sounds like it’s good for you. Come on, I think Flitter’s team is probably done by now. We should go out at get something to eat. How’s Fluttershy? Is she still too timid to come out with us?”

The pegasi talked while they made their way back to town.

Soarin’ watched the fashionista scrunch the yellow fabric and pin it to make a ruffle.

“Wow, Rarity, that dress looks great," Twilight said.

“This is just the lining, dear. I do hope I’ll be able to finish in time for the gala. I’ve had so many orders lately and not much time for personal projects.”

Soarin’ didn’t have much use for fashion. He'd been with Twilight when a button fell off her gala gown. She needed someone who could put it back on.

Rarity took one look at the simple dress. “Oh nononono. Twilight, we are going to a royal ball. That might do for an everyday outing, but the gala? I simply cannot allow you to have your best night ever in something so casual. I’ll make a dress for you.”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest but Rarity was too quick. “No, shh! Don’t say anything. It would be an honor.”

Twilight beamed. “That’s so generous of you, Rarity. Thank you!”

The snowy unicorn held fabrics up to Twilight’s fur to see how they matched. Twilight made an effort not to flinch. She looked at Soarin’. “Soarin’, you should have brought your outfit so Rarity could see it.”

“Yes, what are you going to wear?” Rarity asked with excitement glittering in her large blue eyes.

“Oh. Nothing.”

Rarity groaned. “’Nothing!’ You can’t go to the gala naked. It would be scandalous. Goodness, I assume all five of you will need my expertise. I will make spectacular attire for all of us, then.”

Soarin’ was accosted by a tape measure and a floating clipboard with a pencil that took notes.

“Honestly, 'nothing,'” Rarity grumbled. “Quit squirming. I’m taking your measurements.”

On the week of the Grand Galloping Gala Soarin’ was busy inspecting some cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner when Ponyville’s trio of troublemakers burst in.

“Finally!” Scootaloo shouted. “I never thought we would find you. I mean, we had to listen to practically every cutie mark story in town to get here,” she complained.

Judging from the five sets of annoyed eyes that moved to the orange filly, it must have been the other Elements of Harmony that had shared their stories.

Scootaloo felt the cold glare and backed off. “Er. They were interesting, I guess.”

Soarin’ turned to face the fillies, mouth stuffed with a cupcake. “So I take it you wanted to hear my cutie mark story?” he spoke around the dessert.

“Yes.”

Soarin’ held a hoof up for silence while he finished chewing. He swallowed. “It was just there when I woke up one morning.”

Applebloom scratched her head, confused. “Huh?”

“Really?” Twilight said. “I’ve never heard of a pony getting their mark like that before. Especially when yours is…”

Fluttershy said, “Um. Soarin’.”

He threw his wings up in defeat. “Okay, ya got me. This story starts back when I was in flight school.”

~~~

“Hey!” Soarin’ shouted. The colt pushed himself between Fluttershy and the three bullies. “You picked a fight and didn’t invite me?”

The dark gray pony backed off. “What’s this, she your girlfriend or something Snorin’?”

“She’s a girl and she’s my friend, so yeah, whatever. Now scram.”

Fluttershy huddled on the edge of the cloud with tears welling in her eyes. The bullies weren’t finished making themselves feel powerful by picking on her, so they refused to leave. The gray colt prodded Soarin’. “Says who? I think we should prove who’s the top pony around here once and for all, Snorin’. You want to be a Wonderbolt so bad? Race us.”

“You’re on.”

They gathered some other cadets to witness the race, lined up at the starting line, and took off. Almost instantly the wind screamed in Soarin’s ears, but it was strange. It sounded disturbingly like a pony. Even when Soarin’ slowed his pace the screaming continued. He scanned the skies and there, down in the direction of the ground, was a yellow blot hurtling toward earth.

The young colt swore and rocketed toward the blot. Fluttershy was not a strong flier. If she was panicking she wouldn’t be able to stabilize and get back into a flight pattern.

It was one of those moments where he knew what he was trying to do was impossible, but he went ahead and did it anyway. The distance between himself and the filly was too great. He didn’t feathering care. Soarin’ bit down, threw his hooves straight and lanced toward his target. His wings folded into place and a cone of resistance formed around his feet. What was this? It was in his way, but if he broke through it he might hit Fluttershy so hard he’d crush her. Though, if he opened his wings right as he passed through, then maybe it would work.

The cone of air shattered and Soarin’ roared as he forced his wings open against the wind current holding them down.

A thunderous boom ripped from the sky.

Scootaloo’s eyes were huge. “So Thunderwings isn’t an old pony tale?”

“It might as well be. Fluttershy was the only one who saw it happen. Everyone else was watching the race.”

“Wait a minute,” Applejack said. “That day in Manehattan, I saw a golden light surrounding Ponyville when I was thinking about home. I think that was you, Soarin’.”

Pinkie bounced around her orange friend. “Yeah, and when I was on the rock farm something cleared all the clouds and sent sparkling light confetti glitter stuff falling from the sky. It felt just like a party!”

“That blast cracked open the rock I found.”

“This is uncanny!” Twilight said excitedly. “Soarin’, I think you caused the explosion that led to my cutie mark too. Do you know what this means? All of us had a special connection before we’d even met!”

“Group hug!” Pinkie shouted. The six friends found themselves pulled into a big hug.

“Eeew,” Scootaloo said. She waited for Soarin’ to squeeze out before she asked, “So why don’t you do Thunderwings again? I bet you’d get into the Wonderbolts right away with that awesome move!”

Soarin’ tried to hide his pained expression under a smile. “I can’t.”

“Why? Oof.”

Rarity pushed Scootaloo toward the door with her nose. “Okay now darling. That’s enough questions for one day. Why not take what you’ve learned about cutie marks and use it to find yours?”

“Yeah!” Applebloom jumped up, remembering why they had started collecting stories in the first place. “Come on Cutie Mark Crusaders. Let’s see if Thunderlane will bring us a cloud to jump off of!”

The three fillies tripped over themselves in an excited rush to the door.

“Hmm,” Pinkie Pie mused. “I wonder if that’s better or worse than what they were doing before?”

Twilight said, “What, ziplining?”

Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes. “I don’t wanna know.”

Fluttershy’s attention was on Soarin’, who had fallen silent. “It’s okay Soarin’. I’m sure you’ll be able to do Thunderwings again, if you try.”

“I’ve been trying. Rainbow Dash can do a Sonic Rainboom. Why can’t I…” Soarin’ looked down at his hooves. “It’s fine. I’ve got weather patrol now, so.” He left.

About two seconds later he came back through the door and swiped a cupcake off the counter with a wing. “Okay, now I’m leaving.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t think it’s healthy for him to be comparing himself to a Wonderbolt like that. Should we do something?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nothing we can do, sugar cube. Soarin’ll set aside winning if it means helping somepony out, but he’s still got a competitive streak the size of an Apple family barn. He’s just gonna have to work this out for himself.”

Twilight didn’t like that answer. “I guess so. I hope he figures it out soon, because the Grand Galloping Gala is this week, and I know he was planning to try and meet the Wonderbolts then.”

Twilight tuned an apple into a carriage. It was the most bizarre, cool thing Soarin’ had seen in a long time. As he was watching, the gifted unicorn transformed four mice into strange, somewhat pony-like animals.

Okay, the apple carriage was now the second most bizarre thing Soarin’ had seen in a long time. Rarity’s cat chased the horse mice things away. “Oh boy,” Soarin’ said. “Too bad we don’t get to see the reaction those cause when they get downtown.”

“Now how will we get to the gala?” Twilight was starting to panic. Things didn’t go well when she did that, Soarin’ had noticed.

“We could fly,” he suggested. “Er. I could fly.”

“No!” The entire group protested. They were all going to the gala together, or not going at all.

Soarin’ switched to his next idea. “Okay, let me ask some of my cloud construction buddies if they’ll pull the carriage. No problem. I’ll just drop Rarity’s name.”

“Hey!” Rarity puffed. “So you’re the reason I keep getting love-struck ponies stopping by the boutique when I’m trying to get some work done.”

Soarin’ grinned. “Nothing brings in a favor quite like mentioning Rarity. AJ, you should try it next time you’re trying to make some sales to a tough crowd.”

“Hmm. I’ll remember that, so long as you take the blame.”

Rarity growled. “I shall handle this myself! I don’t need you two spoiling my good name.” She strode off, muttering. “Of all the ungrateful, philandering, avaricious, troublemaking ponies…”

Fluttershy overheard Rarity’s fuming and blushed. “Soarin’, I didn’t know you were a philanderer.”

“I’m not! Whatever that is. She got the troublemaking part right though. So maybe I am?”

Twilight shook her head, amused. “No, you’re not, or we’d be having a lot more awkward conversations, especially considering there’s five of us girls and only one of you.”

Pinkie Pie thought about that. “Awkward can be fun. Can we start having awkward conversations? I’ll make one now! Soarin’, a philanderer is someone who likes to have casual romantic relationships with lots of ponies at once and usually they toy with their lovers’ hearts and emotions.”

“That sounds exhausting. I’m more interested in getting into the Wonderbolt Academy than winning hearts at this point…”

Soarin’s bouncy friend kept talking. “Are you sure you don’t want to get in just so you can have lots of lady fans who love and adore you? Or maybe stallion fans? Or maybe both? I don’t know your tastes.”

Soarin’ started laughing. “Okay Pinkie, this is an awkward and weird conversation. Good job.”

“I do my best.”

“Aaaanyway,” Twilight cut in, “we need to go get ready to leave.”

Soarin’ sang along with the rest of the ponies to finish the traditional gala song. “And we’ll have the best night ever… at the gala!”

Rarity considered their performance on the path to Canterlot Castle. “Hmm. I’m not sure a male solo part fit best there. Perhaps you should have gone first, or sang the last solo verse. Maybe we should try some duets? I bet the results would be spectacular.”

Soarin’ shrugged. “Eh, it’s more about having fun than sounding like the Canterlot Choir.” The stallion ducked his head closer to Rarity so he wouldn’t be overheard. “By the way, why is everyone staring at us like that?”

They passed off their tickets to enter the gala, and Soarin’ was drawing a lot of attention, as was everyone in their six-pony party. Rarity chuckled. “It’s your outfit, silly. Why, look around you.”

The other outfits were nice. Most mares were wearing designer saddles or frilly dresses. For the stallions, a simple cravat or vest was the name of the game. None of them were like Rarity’s designs. Nope.

Soarin’ was on his own now. He braced himself while he entered the fray and tried to remember what he was going to say to Rainbow Dash if he managed to find her. She probably wouldn’t remember him. If that was the case, then maybe this time Rarity’s designer clothes would help the Wonderbolts remember his name? Was that what fashion was for?

The Grand Galloping Gala was not Rainbow Dash’s idea of a good time. “I’m starving. I’m gonna get something to eat,” she told Rapidfire.

“You say that, but the hors d’oeuvres table is that way.” The storm-colored stallion used his wing to point to the castle entrance at one end of the garden.

“Yeah, and I smell fresh baked apples in the other direction. You know, like the kind they sell at those stands at big events.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll warn you, it’s dangerous territory out there. I’m going to the VIP section before ponies realize we’re done with the Wonderworks.”

“I don’t see why they always invite us instead of getting some earth pony fireworks.”

“It’s the Grand Galloping Gala. It’s supposed to be extravagant and over-the-top.”

The two Wonderbolts parted ways. Dash’s route through the garden took her straight to the source of the apple smell. It was a food cart. The owner was an orange mare with a freckled face. “Howdy partner! You hungry?” the mare said.

“As a horse!”

“Well, whatcha hankering for? I’ve got apple pie, apple fritters, apple fries.”

“Hmm.” Dash surveyed the foods. They all looked good. Might as well go with the biggest thing there. “How about that one?" She jabbed a hoof at a big apple pie.

“It’s all yours.”

The Wonderbolt paid and trotted off, proud to have avoided the tedium of eating dozens of appetizers for dinner. She hurried to the VIP section before the gala’s newcomers noticed her distinctive mane. The blue and gold uniform really stood out from the crowd, too.

Spitfire was just ahead of her. “Always hungry after a show, eh Dash?”

“Like every other Wonderbolt,” Dash said before remembering why she didn’t carry things in her mouth.

At the same instant Dash threw out her hoof to catch the falling pie, a pale blue pegasus sped across the room and reached for it. The pie landed in Dash’s waiting grasp, and the stallion pegasus was a split second late. He caught Rainbow Dash’s leg.

She pulled her hoof up in surprise. The pie smashed all over the front of her uniform.

Silence.

The stallion froze in place, hooves outstretched. Cinnamon spiced goo slid down Rainbow Dash’s chest and dripped onto the marble floor.

“My pie…”

The rest of it, tin and all, slopped face down onto the tile. Dash stared at it, and then stared at the mess on her uniform. When she looked up, the pony who’d startled her was pushing a new pie into Spitfire’s hooves. He ripped a starched napkin off a nearby table and held it out to the stunned, dessert-covered mare.

Dash took the napkin and looked at the pony who’d somehow managed to smash apple pie all over her and get a new one before she had time to react. He was, well, he was unlike any guest she’d seen at the gala before. A thunderbolt gleamed at the base of his neck, inset in a pair of spreading white wings that flared around his chest. The wings matched the white plate shoes and alabaster covering along his back. Draped underneath was a dazzling shift of royal blue and ethereal fabric that sparkled like Luna’s rare azure night sky.

Apparently he could fly in it. Impressed, Dash opened her mouth to say something, but Spitfire beat her to it.

“Hey, I remember you. You’re the pony who tried to save us at the Best Young Flyer Competition.”

Soarin’s ears pointed back in horror, but he hadn’t lost his sense of humor. “You remember me,” he said before covering his eyes. “And now I’ve made sure you definitely won’t forget me,” he groaned.

Dash wiped at the apple filling covering her uniform. “I’ll say. You’re the first to think our performance was bad enough to throw food at us.”

Red tinged the stallion’s face. Now that she was looking at him, he was familiar, and it wasn’t just because his coat was similar to hers in color. She tried to talk while her brain put the pieces together. “You’re…”

“Soarin’. We met at the—”

“—at the competition,” she finished. That was it. If his mane hadn’t been styled down she might have recognized him sooner.

Well, he had already succeeded in making the gala more fun than the first one she’d been to. Maybe if it looked like she was busy with a guest, her fans might leave her alone. “Since you’re here, wanna hang out with us?” she asked Soarin’.

He couldn’t believe she’d said that after what he’d just done. “You want me to hang out with you?”

“Yeah, why not. At least that way I’ll see you coming next time you try to throw food at me.”

They entered the VIP section and ponies gathered around the group of Wonderbolts. Rapidfire sighed. “You had to bring all that commotion with you, didn’t you Rainbow Dash?”

“Hey, life’s never boring with me around.”

The pie incident caused quite a stir. The crowd quickly closed in, and Soarin’ found himself split off from the Wonderbolts. Ponies wanted to ask for photos and autographs and talk about – well, he wasn’t sure. It was too loud to have a conversation with more than one pony at a time.

“Hey, Spitfire,” Soarin’ tried. “Have you ever soared past lightning?”

The fiery mare gave no indication she’d heard him. Soarin’ turned to his right. “Rainbow Dash, I wanted to ask you…” but the Wonderbolt was pulled into a group picture with some important looking ponies.

This was not going as he had hoped. He was getting attention, of course, just not from the Wonderbolts. “Yes, my friend Rarity designed this,” he found himself explaining to a fashionable couple that found his attire wonderful and regal.

“I say,” one stallion said, holding up his monocle to get a closer look at Soarin’. “You do bear a remarkable resemblance to a depiction I saw inside Canterlot Castle of one of the Elements of Harmony.”

Soarin’ brushed his hoof over his mane to make sure the top was still flattened. “Er, I don’t think I’ve seen that picture.” If ponies at the gala found out he was an Element of Harmony he might never hear the end of it. “Hey, look over there, is that the Prince? And he’s with some mare!”

Soarin’ zipped off. He heard the stallion say, “Oh, how unfortunate,” but it wasn’t clear whether he was talking about Rarity or the pony she was with.

It was time to devise a new strategy. As Soarin’ was thinking about what to do next, the music changed. It had a beat to it. He heard Pinkie yell something about cake, and then the room fell quiet. Soarin’ looked around. There was Rarity smeared in cake.

Wow, good thing Soarin’ had smashed a pie into Rainbow Dash and not Rarity. She was furious. Prince Blueblood reared in fear and fell backward into a freestanding marble statue. The heavy piece of art swayed and toppled. A rainbow blur launched for the statue before it could crush the dazed bystanders.

Soarin’ saw the miscalculation in slow motion, watched that pair of blue wings beat up and down as the sharp horn on the statue angled down, a spear aimed straight between the pegasus’ shoulder blades. Soarin’ felt his muscles tense as he braced himself. Taught fire burned through the tendons in his back legs as he dug into the floor.

One moment Soarin’ stood in the crowd. The next he crashed into Rainbow Dash.

The room exploded with a thunder clap that threw the gala guests to the floor. Showers of sparks flew from a glowing winged sigil that spread out over the crowd. The force of the boom knocked over one of the pillars in the center of the room and it tipped and fell into the next, fracturing into stone chunks that rained down. Pillars fell like dominoes. The alicorn statue was a heap of rubble.

Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash slammed into the wall with such force it took a few seconds for gravity to catch up to them. The two pegasi slid down the wall and collapsed in a heap on the ground. Dash’s left wing crooked out at an odd angle. Her teammates came rushing up, but the only thing she was paying attention to was the pony who’d smashed her out of the way. His formal attire was ruined, the ethereal fabric torn away to reveal the mark on his flank.

It was a winged lightning bolt: a perfect replica of the Wonderbolt emblem.

In the chaos of stampeding animals and the afterglow of that aerial feat, the pegasus who pulled it off made one quick glance back and then flew for the exit.

3 - Something Goes Horribly Wrong

“Soarin’, that was amazing!” Twilight said in awe after they’d run all the way to Pony Joe’s. “I don’t think you should do it inside ever again, but still!”

Pinkie galloped around their table. “Yeah! You were like whoosh bam! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything move that fast.”

Applejack was the most calm. “Do ya think you could do it again?”

Soarin’ tore into one doughnut after the next. He was starving and exhausted, and to top it off he couldn’t stand because his forelegs were killing him. Probably he’d have to stay off them. He hovered as best he could next to the table. “No. It wasn’t a choice. I had to get to the other side of the room, so I did. I don’t remember the details at all. But,” Soarin’s eyes gleamed, “now I know it’s possible. If only I could figure out how.”

Twilight: “Well, I can think of one pony who might know how.”

Soarin’ winced. He was sure he’d broken Rainbow Dash’s wing, and there wasn’t a chance in Tartarus he was going to seek out the Wonderbolts after doing that. Best to just wait it out and hope they forgot he even existed.

Surprise appeared. The white Wonderbolt and her bouncy yellow mane had been nowhere in sight at the gala, but the second Soarin’ disappeared she showed up like she’d been there the whole time. “Dashie. Dashie. Snap out of it,” she was saying.

Dash came back to reality and red hot scissors tore through her left wing. Her face contorted in pain and a stream of expletives poured from her mouth. The gala's hard castle floor added insult to injury.

Surprise was relieved. “She’s okay! Barely even a scratch,” she announced to the onlookers. Some of them covered their ears and turned red at the things Rainbow Dash was saying.

Surprise whipped a wingtip over the injured Wonderbolt’s mouth to muffle her angry agony. “Come on, this way,” she coaxed Rainbow Dash.”You broke your wing the second week you were a Wonderbolt, remember? No big deal.”

Surprise led Dash out of the castle, brushing squirrels and bunnies out of the way with her wings like she did this every day. The other ‘Bolts followed behind as everypony ran for the exit.

Dash clenched her teeth and marched out of the chaos. As soon as she could fly again… “Surprise, can you get the address of one of the ponies who entered the Best Young Flier Competition? Name’s Soarin’. I have a letter to send.”

Surprise frowned. “Right now? How can you write a letter with a broken wing?”

“I don’t use my wings to write! Who do you know that writes with their wings? Ah, never mind.”

“Alright, Dashie, I’ll find Soarin’s address. Let’s get your wing fixed first.”

The first thing Dash noticed when she woke up was the rain. Droplets of cold water pelted her coat. She lurched away from the soggy sheets and fell out of bed. Some sort of pink raincloud was pouring brown rain over where she had been sleeping. The murky water dripped over her muzzle and she tasted it on accident. It was chocolate milk.

“What the hay, Blaze” Dash said. She ignored the mess and stumbled to the practice field to chew out Blaze for pranking her. Blaze started this; she could clean up the pink cloud.

The wet bandage around Dash's wing slogged off in pieces. Great. Now the medics needed to put a fresh one on. She stepped outside only to see more weird clouds overshadowing the team meeting. Some of the Wonderbolts were missing.

“Where’s Rapidfire?” Surprise asked, a piece of chewy pink cloud in her mouth. The Wonderbolt blew a bubble and it popped over her face. She ignored the mess, turned her head, and bit a new chunk off the bubblegum cloud stuck to her side.

Dash looked through the present team members and Rapidfire’s curly salt and pepper mane was nowhere to be seen.

“Dunno,” Spitfire said. “He was so grumpy this morning you’d think he woke up with his wings on backwards.”

Thanks to the stupid weather the team was having a hard time concentrating. Lightning Streak’s thick accent speared the air every time he grappled with a cloud that kept getting stuck on his shiny mane and tail. “Aye, Wave Chill! Get over here and help me, mate.”

“Sorry bro.” Wave Chill sat under a rain of rainbow sprinkles. They bounced off his puffy blue mane. “Got my own issues over here.”

Spitfire snorted, kicking a cloud that tried to creep up behind her. “Forget it,” she said. “This is ridiculous. I’m canceling outdoor training for the day. Dash, you and High Winds search the base. I’m going to take a look around. Shout at Rapids if you see him.” The captain spread her feathers. With a powerful wing stroke she lifted into the sky.

“Man,” Dash complained. “Why do we get ground duty?”

Surprise burst another bubble over her face and then gave orders for the others to search the areas Spitfire wasn’t covering. Dash looked at High Winds and shrugged. Despite the morning’s events, the windy mare’s white coat was still clean. Her blue mane was always tousled, so it looked no different than usual.

High Winds spoke while they walked and assessed the damages. “Does it hurt?”

“No. It’s just annoying.”

“I was not speaking of your wing.”

Dash mulled this over. It was hard to get a straight answer out of High Winds, who had a penchant for wordplay. If her friend wasn’t talking about her injured wing, then what? Pride, maybe.

Dash frowned. “No rookie ever pulls something like that off without severe injuries. If he really is that good, why isn’t he a Wonderbolt already?”

“Someone must invite him to the Academy first. There are many with talents who pass under the radar unnoticed. Imagine if Princess Celestia had missed that one moment that led her to take on a future Element of Harmony as her student. Our days would be dark if not for that coincidence.”

“I didn’t know Princess Celestia had a student.”

Gusts of hot snow pelted the pillars surrounding Wonderbolt HQ. There was no sign of what was causing the chaos.

Soarin’ stared into the opening of the maze. “I don’t like this wager, and I don’t trust you,” he told Discord.

“Oh don’t be so glum. In you go, and remember, no wings.” The strange creature disappeared piece by piece with popping sounds, like popcorn.

Twilight led the way. “It’s fine. Just stick together and we’ll find the Elements of Harmony.” No sooner had she said that than hedges sprung up around the group, separating them all.

Soarin’ resolved to stick to the left side of the maze wall. He walked for a while and started to wonder if he was going in circles. The silence bothered him, and the lack of wings made him feel sick. “Guys? Any of you out there?” No response. Soarin’ picked up his pace.

A sudden opening in the wall brought him to a clearing where Discord lounged on a cloud hammock.

“What did you do?” Soarin’ demanded. “Where are my friends?”

“Soarin’, always quick to come to the rescue. But, as it turns out, your friends didn’t need you after all.”

The Element of Loyalty raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

Discord grasped the stallion’s head with his sharp talons. “Imagine this,” the draconequus purred. “All of those times you stepped in to save the day? You weren’t needed. The animals Fluttershy loves so much would have come to save her that time at flight school. The Wonderbolts didn’t need you to jump in to rescue Rarity – oh, which you failed to do.” Discord’s form looped into a coil in the sky. “No pony needs you. You’re the loyal third wheel. Unnecessary…” the trickster let go of Soarin’s head, “and unwanted.”

Soarin’s eyes glazed over. Discord was right.

The draconequus peered over the hedge. “Your friends are already at the maze exit. They’ll find the Elements of Harmony faster without you, and you don’t really fit in with them anyway, do you? Yes, it’d be better for everyone if you just went home. I’m sure there’s some other pony that would find you useful. The Wonderbolts, maybe?” Discord snapped his claws and Soarin’s wings reappeared. “Fly home now. Off you go.”

Soarin’ fled for the skies.

“Hey Soarin,” Applejack shouted from her spot at the top of the hot air balloon. “Come here for a sec.”

“Go away!” Soarin’ yelled back. His ex-friends ignored him and brought the balloon closer. He snorted. “Fine, whatever. Come on Rainbow Dash, we’re leaving.” Soarin’ started pushing Dash in the opposite direction.

Rarity watched the stallion move an entire cloud out from under the rainbow waterfall, getting himself covered by the stuff in the process. “How on earth can he think that rainbow pool is a Wonderbolt?”

Applejack said, “Same way you thought that big rock was a bonafide diamond. Pass me my rope, Twi.”

In a single toss Applejack looped the rope perfectly around Soarin’s neck. He neighed in surprise and bolted, pulling the balloon after him.

“Whoa Nelly!”

Soarin’ raged through the sky like a demon possessed. It was all Applejack could do to keep her grip on the rope, and it was slipping. The balloon tore in circles, flipping upside down for a split second.

“Whee!” Pinkie Pie cheered. Fluttershy couldn’t take it and jumped out of the balloon basket.

“Hold on,” Applejack roared. “He’s gonna tire out and then I’ll rope him again. If I can get around his wings we’ve got him.”

Twilight clung to the edge of the basket and tried to keep her lunch down. Pinkie was unaffected. She passed Applejack another rope. When Soarin’s erratic flight pattern leveled out, the rodeo star bit down on the hoop in her teeth and then hurled it to the sky so it spun in a circle. She kept the lasso whirling with smooth motions of her head and then launched the rope toward the blue blur. It snagged on the shape and tangled.

Soarin’ fell out of the air, wings caught up in the lasso. He hung underneath the balloon basket and struggled to free himself. The stallion kicked and spun and chewed on the rope like a wild animal.

“Bring ‘er down Twi. Hurry afore he gets out and we have to round him up again.”

Twilight lowered the balloon basket straight down so Soarin’ wouldn’t get dragged in the dirt. It was impossible to get anywhere near him with all his thrashing, so Applejack had to lasso each of his legs and pull them out from under him to hold him still, suspended in the air like a bear rug. Twilight wasted no time in touching her horn to Soarin’s forehead and casting the memory spell on the enraged pegasus.

The stallion snorted, hot air puffing from his nostrils. “Let me go. I don’t belong with you guys. I never did.”

Applejack clenched down hard on her end of the tether and growled through her teeth. “What are you doing Twilight? Hurry up.”

“I’m trying!” Flashing pink light enveloped Twilight’s horn and she touched Soarin’s forehead again.

He twisted his neck away and put his strength into pulling one of his back legs free, loosening the bond. Rarity couldn’t keep her hold on the rope anymore. “T-Twilight!”

“It’s not working! Something’s wrong… my spell isn’t doing anything!”

At that moment, Soarin’ kicked his leg so hard the rope tore free from Rarity’s grasp. He flew straight up and slipped free of the bonds. “What is wrong with you guys? Can’t you see I want to be alone? I love being alone!”

The only other pegasus in the group didn’t even try to follow him he took off so fast. “What do we do now?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight slumped in the grass and buried her head in her hooves. “I don’t know.”

Night fell, and Soarin' didn't return.

A dark mist broke through the pink barrier protecting the Equestria’s capital city. It materialized before the foot of the Equestrian throne. “Sister.”

“Luna.”

“Why do you sit here and do nothing! It has been two days since you sent those letters to Twilight, and the chaotic magic has only gotten worse! I cannot fight this on my own any longer. We must recover the elements and intervene.”

“No—”

“—Sister!”

Celestia raised a hoof to call for quiet. “No, my place is here. Even if I wanted to help you stop Discord, I cannot. My connection with the elements is completely severed.”

Luna stepped back in shock. “What?”

“But you, Luna, you may still have a chance. Go. Find Twilight and her friends. I fear something has gone horribly wrong, and I’m not ready to lose another student. I’m never ready…”

The ponies inside the oak library in Ponyville panicked at the sight of her. Repeated attempts to soothe them did nothing.

“ENOUGH,” Luna roared.

The five Elements of Harmony froze.

“But,” Rarity protested, sniffling. “He took my tail. My beautiful tail.”

Spike had been trying to push Rarity to safety, but he kept slipping in the pool of tears she sat in. Applejack maintained a fighting stance. Fluttershy huddled in a corner where she’d attempted to dig a nest under some books to hide from the dark alicorn. The only two unaffected were Twilight and Pinkie.

The entire group had stayed inside Twilight’s upside-down treehouse ever since their second failed encounter with Discord. That fiasco only proved that sticking the Element of Loyalty on Spike did not make up for Soarin’.

Pinkie Pie bounced up. “Hey, look what I can do!” The earth pony hovered in the air.

Now that most of her subjects were still, Luna was able to count them. “Twilight Sparkle, where is the Element of Loyalty?”

She hung her head. “I don’t know. I tried to save him, but…”

“We see.” Luna’s voice echoed in the hollows of the tree. “He has been turned. As a stallion, there is but one way to break Discord's spell.”

Twilight’s interest piqued. Apparently her memory spell did nothing because Discord’s mind games affected ponies in different ways. “How can we get the real Soarin’ back?”

Luna threw out a hoof and stood proud while she proclaimed, “With love’s true kiss.”

“…”

Everyone stared.

The princess frowned. “Our sister told us jokes were a way to bond with our subjects, but it is perhaps we that have been fooled. Are not jokes the source of laughter?”

Pinkie Pie hesitated. “Yes?”

Twilight pleaded, “Princess Luna, isn’t there something we can do? We can’t defeat Discord without Soarin’.”

Luna prepared to leave. “We shall see what ails your friend. Let this be a lesson to you, Twilight Sparkle. The matters of the heart run deep. Often magic alone cannot cure them.”

The trouble with colorless pegasus ponies was how well they camouflaged against clouds. Fortunately, Cloudsdale had been replaced by a mass of colorful, writhing snakes. They slithered and hissed around the sky in large clusters. The only citizens who stayed in Cloudsdale now were the ones who didn’t mind snakes so much.

Every gray pony looked the same to Luna. She began to wonder if her recollection of who she was looking for was wrong, and perhaps she had already passed Soarin’ in Ponyville.

Eventually she did find him. He was the only pony careless enough to sit on one of the snake clouds. The knot of color inched its way across the sky, carrying the pegasus to no destination in particular. If the snakes would only coordinate their efforts instead of getting tied up with each other, they might actually get somewhere, but at this rate it was going to be a long haul.

Princess Luna’s eyes flashed white. The sky went dark with a clap of lightning and thunder and she appeared in front of Soarin’, beating her wings and hovering just above the surface of the cloud. Her magic returned it to normal.

Soarin’ got to his feet. “Princess Luna, you can’t force me to be friends with them. Just take my Element. I give up.”

“Coward,” Luna’s voice boomed. “You are offered friendship, and this is how you repay them: with betrayal.”

Soarin’s eyes locked onto the blank white glow where the princess’ eyes should have been. “That’s not true! I don’t belong with them, so I left.”

“Left Equestria to be consumed by chaos. If you are not Loyalty, then where do you belong?”

“I should’ve been a Wonderbolt by now!” Soarin’ shouted. “It’s my destiny. It’s printed right here for all to see!”

Luna’s frightening appearance flashed with the light of the storm she conjured. “Fool! How dare thee assume thyself good enough to abandon thy duties and thy friends!"

The great alicorn rose higher and higher into the air. "Night after night you wonder why another gets the recognition, the attention, the love you believe you deserve. Do you not realize there are ponies who need you? What becomes of them if you leave? What becomes of Equestria if you leave?” Luna moved aside and revealed the destroyed land behind her.

“So what will you do, Loyalty? Will you let your jealousy and doubts consume you until you turn against the ones you once cherished?”

“I’m not...”

"Louder!”

“I’m not where I should be.” Color leached up Soarin’s feet. “Yet.” Blue spread out over the tips of his ears, over his mane. “Not yet. But I will be a Wonderbolt.” Gold lit up the lightning bolt on his flank. “And I don’t need to abandon my friends to do it.”

After that Discord didn’t stand a chance. Luna carried the stone statue all the way back to Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash was especially irritated her broken wing left her stranded on the ground, missing out on all the Discord action, but at least the Elements of Harmony had stepped in. It would've been annoying to fly out to Ponyville to kick Discord's butt in order to get rid of all the random junk cluttering the sky space the Wonderbolts needed for practice.

She flexed her wing. After rehabilitation exercises, it was as good as ever. She’d completed that morning’s routine without any trouble. Today was the day.

Spitfire noticed Dash lingering on the practice field. “I know that face all too well Rainbow Dash. What are you scheming?”

The truth was, Dash lied when she told Surprise she was going to mail a letter to Soarin’. She'd deliver it herself.

4 - The Sonic Rainboom Pony

Trouble was afoot in Ponyville. It came on three sets of hooves and it called itself the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Now it can’t be just any pony,” Sweetie Belle said. “Ms. Cheerilee is one of the best mares in Ponyville. She deserves to have one of the best stallions as her very special somepony.”

The three fillies exchanged glances. It was time for a song. Sweetie Belle led this one. “Cheerilee is sweet and kind. She’s the best teacher we could hope for. The perfect stallion you and I must find. Want to really make her heart soar.”

Scootaloo jumped in at the mention of that word. “Hey, wait, cut the song. You know who’s single and also totally cool?”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both groaned as the shadow of a pegasus passed over them, right on cue.

“Hey Soarin’!” Scootaloo called out. The stallion did a back flip in the air, spun around, and landed in front of the Crusaders with a bow, wings spread out along the ground.

“At your service, for all your troublemaking needs.” Soarin’ lifted his head, still holding his wings open. “Hey Scoots. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom.”

Applebloom narrowed her eyes. “You’re in an awfully good mood. You weren’t sneaking cupcakes out of Sugar Cube Corner again, were you?”

Soarin’ licked a spot of frosting off his lips. “No.”

“Hmm,” Sweetie Belle hesitated, spinning her two friends around so they were facing the other way and Soarin’ couldn’t hear their whispered conversation. “I dunno Scootaloo. Ms. Cheerilee doesn’t like silliness much. Remember that time we put that apple that screams when you bite into it on her desk?”

The three fillies looked at their feet.

“But on the other hoof,” Applebloom said, “Soarin’ is really nice, even if he’s a little goofy.”

Scootaloo chipped in. “Don’t forget he’s the best flyer in all of Equestria!”

Soarin’ raised an eyebrow at the secret conversation and waited for the Crusaders to figure out what they needed him for this time. The fillies turned around with innocent smiles.

“Hey,” Scootaloo began. “Are you doing anything for Hearts and… Hooves… Day...”

Soarin’ laughed as the three ponies seemed to get confused by their own question. Their eyes were wide, like they’d seen a timberwolf. He opened his mouth.

“Sorry girls, this one’s with me today.”

Soarin’s jaw and wings snapped shut in shock and his ears went straight up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders bunched together in front of him. They all tried to talk at once and the words stumbled over each other. Finally Scootaloo managed to get over the other two. “Oh. Er, we’ll just be over there, actually, I think I see somepony else that can help us.”

“Yep! Over there, that one. But…” Sweetie Belle sang, “this one’s too young. This one’s too old.”

The sound of the musical faded off down the streets of Ponyville while the three went on with their search.

“Looks like I just saved your feathers there. I know mischief when I see it, and those three have it written all over them save the cutie mark. But you,” Rainbow Dash said, pacing around Soarin’ so she was facing the frozen stallion. “You have a cutie mark in something else entirely, Soarin’.”

She said the dreaded phrase: “We need to talk.”

In one smooth motion the Wonderbolt pushed off the ground into the sky. Either Soarin’ followed her, or he got to find out what happened when you broke Rainbow Dash’s wing and then ignored her. It was going to be option one, then. “Come on wings,” he mumbled. Soarin’ regained his senses and creaked into action.

Dash waited for him on one of the clouds above Ponyville. The sparse pegasus air traffic at this time of day flowed above her, while town life below trotted. Soarin’ was certain ponies recognized that mane the instant they set eyes on it, but no one dared approach the rainbow Wonderbolt. She wasn’t wearing her uniform and sported a pair of saddlebags instead.

He sighed heavily, accepted whatever fate held in store, and landed next to Dash.

She looked out over the sky while she spoke. “I guess I should thank you first for what you did at the gala. Rapidfire says I’m always jumping into action without assessing the situation. If you hadn’t hit me, a broken wing would probably be the least of my worries. So now that that’s out of the way...”

Rainbow Dash whirled on Soarin’. “What were you thinking pulling a move like that off indoors? You could’ve set the whole building on fire! Electrocuted half the ponies there! I would tell you to just knock it off, but if you had any control of your abilities, you’d have done that move back in Cloudsdale! And to make matters more complicated, you’ve got this on your flank.” She jabbed a wingtip at Soarin’s Wonderbolt cutie mark.

Despair sank a pit in Soarin's stomach. He didn’t get to decide what his cutie mark was, and it was obvious Dash didn’t think he was good enough to be a Wonderbolt. “I…”

“So I’m going to train you,” Rainbow Dash finished.

“You—what?”

She grinned. “Just for today. Normally I’d make you prove you can keep up with me first, but this one’s on the house. I get the feeling if I told you to avoid doing that move, you’d ignore me and end up getting hurt or destroying a village. Part of my job is keeping Equestria safe, after all.”

She stood. “So, Soarin’. Do you want to be a Wonderbolt?”

Confused and shocked, Soarin’ could only answer that question on reflex. “Yes.”

“Then what are we sitting around on a cloud for? Come on, I’ll show you how to control that move. What do you call it?” Dash dropped off the cloud and Soarin’ followed her.

“Thunderwings.”

Dash recalled the loud explosion that created shimmering wings in the air. “Heh. Good name. We’re going to go out where we won’t bother anypony. The Everfree Forest is around here someplace. The skies above that forest should be good.”

Dash noticed Soarin’ fell in perfect formation to her rear left flank. He knew where he was supposed to be and had the ability to maintain spacing. She increased her speed to see if he’d be able to match her pace. He did, keeping the same distance between them regardless of how fast or slow she went.

Soarin’ wasn’t sure how to break the news to Dash about her choice of training location. The weather there was unpredictable and the clouds were unusual. “Er, Rainbow Dash, I’m not so sure about that place. The Everfree Forest sounds like a bad idea.”

“Which is exactly what makes it a good idea! No one will follow us out there.”

“No one will hear us scream, either.”

“Afraid of a little Nightmare Moon?”

Soarin’ bit his lip. Dash hadn’t seen what a pony with fangs looked like, let alone had to battle one. “I’m not scared. I just don’t want to be responsible for another broken wing or something. Once was enough.”

“Yeah, you know, most of the time when I break things it’s my fault. Way to switch things up.”

Soarin’ started to relax. It didn’t seem like she was out for revenge. Still. Uniform or not, the pegasus in front of him was a Wonderbolt, and all the time he spent with her better be with his best wing forward. No pony could apply to the Wonderbolt Academy unless they got an invitation first, after all.

The stallion shook his head. Wonderbolts mentored ponies from time to time like this. No need to get excited. One flap at a time.

The two pegasi entered official Everfree Forest airspace. Ponyville vanished from view and thick clouds took over. Most had a slight pink tinge, but every so often he saw gray or black ones. This was the best case scenario in terms of Everfree weather.

Rainbow Dash set foot on a pink cloud. “Watch the stickiness. You know, these clouds kinda seem familiar.”

“Oh. Did you get cotton candy over by Canterlot too?”

“Some of it. Most of it was gum clouds, though. One of my teammates, Surprise, tried making a gum cloud after the Princess’ guards cleaned up that Discord business, but so far she hasn’t had any success. It’s probably for the best.” Dash lifted a hoof and watched the cloud stretch. She released her magic grip and the pink puff snapped back into place.

Dash set her saddlebags down and started sorting through them. “Now, explain your technique for Thunderwings.”

“I’ve managed to do it twice. The first time was when I was still a colt in flight camp. The second was at the Grand Galloping Gala. I think the wings show in the sky because I open mine the instant before impact, but my problem is speed. There’s a certain velocity I have to reach for it to work. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong, or how to go any faster other than waiting for a life or death situation to pop up.”

Dash passed Soarin’ a container that looked like one of Rarity’s face creams. “Rub this over your forehooves and let me tell you a little something about what they don’t teach in flight school: magic. Oh, don’t let it get on your wings. Use your hooves to put it on.”

Soarin’ screwed off the top of the container. The stuff inside looked like water, but when he poked at it, it stuck to his hoof and created a transparent shell over it, like he’d dipped his foot in melted wax.

“That’s resistance reducer, a little something a unicorn can whip up with the right ingredients and the know-how. You’ve gotta watch where you put it. I’ve been told if you nosedive while coated in it, it works so well you won’t be able to use your tail and wings to get out of the dive, and you’ll crash into the ground at supersonic speed.”

“Will I always have to use this?” Soarin’ finished spreading reducer over his front hooves. He could barely see the clear coating, but he could sure feel its oily presence.

Dash looked at Soarin’s coat. “Nah. If you were super fluffy, maybe. Fur causes air drag, so the reducer will solve that issue. Today you’re using it so you can get a feel for how fast you have to be.”

“Right. Okay, now I’m going to give it a shot.” Soarin’ crouched and prepared to launch.

“Whoa, slow down there speedy. I’ve gotta tell you some more about pegasus magic. It’ll be quick, I promise. I like lecturing about as much as I like being lectured to, and trust me, as a rookie Wonderbolt I got plenty of that second part.

“Pegasus magic is what lets us walk on clouds with no effort. All we have to do is concentrate to cut the flow of magic and we can pass through clouds. And that’s all there is to it, right?”

Soarin’ couldn’t avoid rolling his eyes. “Right.”

“Wrong! What do you think creates signature trails, like Wonderbolt smoke? Magic. Yep, now you see where I’m going with this. A Sonic Rainboom isn’t caused by pure speed. It’s the same with your Thunderwings. Unleash a burst of pegasus magic and it takes form in wings, or a rainbow, or showers of firework-like sparks if you’re talking about one of our airshows.

“‘Course most pegasi never need to know this, so you only learn the most basic magic control in flight school. The best moves take magic, and to get magic to work you need to harness emotions. If you’ve ever seen a unicorn cast a challenging spell you know what I mean – their eyes get all glowy and they make funny faces.”

Soarin’ picked up one of his hooves and looked at it. He’d never paid much attention to his ability to manipulate clouds. It came naturally. “So I’m supposed to feel something, and then… concentrate on it?”

“Uh-huh. And for a supersonic move you need one thing only.” Rainbow Dash strode right up to Soarin’ and poked him in the chest with her wingtip. “Determination. You cannot doubt yourself. You’ve gotta have complete focus on getting what you want to the point where you don’t think you will do it, you know you will do it.”

She removed her feather. “So when you’re flying, act like you're going to pass through a cloud and turn your magic off. Right when you do that, pour in the emotion and unleash it. Bang. Instant awesome.”

“You make it sound easier than it is.”

“Pretty much.” With that, Rainbow Dash fell through the cloud. Soarin’ heard her call out from below. “So start by paying more attention to what the control feels like.”

Soarin’ shut off his magic. The cloud whooshed around him. He relaxed and prepared to land on the cloud below, but when he looked down there was nothing but trees. He scrambled in the air and threw his wings out, flapping to regain height.

“Heh heh. Gotcha.” Rainbow Dash peered down at him from where she was sitting on the underside of the cloud. Her mane and tail hung straight down.

Soarin’ floundered in the sky again. “What the. How are you doing that?”

“Control. It’s actually harder to teach this than the Sonic Rainboom stuff. But it’s possible.” She yawned. “So go ahead and work on moving through clouds some more. I’m gonna take a nap. Let me know when you’re ready.”

Soarin’ gaped at the pegasus curled up on the bottom of the cloud, napping. Was she for real? He stuck his lower lip out and huffed. Oh, he’d let her know when he was ready.

Rainbow Dash nearly shed all her feathers when the bang blew up right next to her napping spot. She unstuck to the bottom of the cloud and toppled for a few seconds with a yell. Some leftover Thunderwing sparks zapped her coat and she jerked out of the way.

A blazing gold trail zipped over the Everfree. Rainbow Dash shouted at it. “Alright, I totally deserved that!”

She took a breath and smirked, but judging from the position of the sun that was all the fun she was going to have today. It was time to go home.

For a while, things went rather smoothly, considering it was a country filled with magical creatures. Thanks to Ponyville’s weather team, Cloudsdale had enough water to supply Equestria for the coming year. The Crystal Empire, a long-lost country, and its entire population reappeared after 1,000 years of banishment. Nopony was sure if they’d been on the moon with Luna or what.

So this changeling invasion was small stuff compared to that. Rainbow Dash kicked another one in the face. Rapidfire, Spitfire, and Surprise battled alongside her while they carved a pathway to the Elements of Harmony. They were supposed to meet the bearers there. Those six ponies were definitely going to need back up.

The two groups of battling equines merged and Rainbow Dash had one of the more bizarre experiences of her life. “Soarin?!” She was nose-to-nose with the familiar face.

It hissed at her. “Whoops,” she said, ducking under the vicious bite the changeling Soarin’ tried to take out of her muzzle. She swept the legs out from under the bug and bucked it out of the way. She whirled around and faced another Soarin’. He reared and got ready to stomp down. The hooves slammed a hairs-breadth from her face. “Rainbow Dash?”

“Huh?” They both sputtered in confusion.

Rainbow Dash said, “You’re here to back up the Elements of Harmony too?”

Soarin’ said, “The Wonderbolts are here to back us up?”

Both ponies threw rear kicks that knocked out the changelings sneaking up behind them. “What?” they said in unison.

“I am an Element of Harmony!” Soarin’ was forced to clarify.

“What?” Rainbow Dash repeated in disbelief.

The two were thrown back into the fight among the mass of pony replicas. “You know,” Soarin’ shouted over the noise, “The last thing we need right now is more confusion!” A herd of Pinkie Pies swarmed him and multiples of all the present Wonderbolts got mixed in with the copies of everypony else.

“To horse’s hay with this!” Rapidfire complained. The real Rapidfire disappeared into thin air, and all the mimics glanced around, confused, unable to copy what he’d just done. Surprise immediately set to taking them down. Elsewhere changelings began to fall in defeat for no visible reason.

Twilight Sparkle threw the doors to the Hall of Magic open and a fresh swarm of changelings attacked. The bearers of the Elements charged into the fray, trying to reach the secondary doors where the elements were stashed.

“Really?” Spitfire groaned, noticing the lack of military forces inside. “Celestia leaves those gems out, unguarded?”

“Cover me!” Soarin’ called from the herd. He tore down the hallway, wings wide open, plowing everything in the way over.

Rainbow Dash leapt out of the chaos. “On it!”

Nothing like a tornado to mix things up. The mare threw herself into an insane spin, kicking up a whirlwind that grew into a small cyclone. Keeping the rotation, she started to move down the aisle. Every pony in her path got whipped into the gale and thrown across the room. “Watch it! Coming through!”

The Elements and the Wonderbolts blew through the next set of doors.

“Twilight,” one of the many Applejacks called out. Her voice was edged with worry. “Don’t reckon you know how to open this door?”

Well, this was just pony fluffing great. The box was protected. A great door with a horn lock on it stood in their way, a lock that only one pony could open.

Twilight bit her lip. It was the closest any pony ever saw her come to cussing her mentor out.

Pinkie Pie stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. “Oh, no big deal. If Discord can break it, anypony can.”

“Hiyah!” Rarity shouted out of nowhere, hitting the door with a punch. Nothing happened. After a second she pulled her hoof away and held it to her lips. “Ow,” she whined, fussing over the injury.

Twilight had to act now. They were outnumbered. “Might as well give it a try,” she said before putting her horn into the lock. A faint blue glow shuttered on and off around the lock’s protection spell. The other five Elements crowded around the door, forming a defensive circle that was falling apart fast.

“Oh give me a break.” Rainbow Dash rammed into Twilight, pushing the unicorn's horn fully into the lock. Blue light burst from the pattern on it and it opened. Dash noted the box, opened it, pulled out the necklaces, and shoved each one onto five ponies there. The sixth element was a crown. Dash slapped it onto whoever didn't have an Element yet.

“Hey, this one’s not mine!” Pinkie Pie fiddled with the crown. “Shiny.”

There wasn’t time for that. “Whatever, figure it out on the way unless you want to know the wrath of twenty Spitfires!” The Spitfires crowded around them, hissing.

Together they bulldozed back out of the building. The city was a wreck. Fortunately the fighting prevented any more changelings from joining the swarm that chased them all the way to the castle where the wedding had, uh, failed.

Fleetfoot united her squad of Wonderbolts with Spitfire's and together they held the rear guard, protecting the Elements of Harmony so they could reach the changeling Queen. Moments later a rainbow blast rocketed the Chrysalis all the way to the dead woods. Her minions fled after her.

Soarin’ sought out Rainbow Dash at the real wedding reception.

“You really saved our flanks back there. Makes up for that fiasco with the rampaging dragon in Ponyville,” he said.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash defended herself. “I wasn’t there, and plus they told us it was a teenage dragon, not a full-fledged adult. Fleetfoot would’ve sent a different team for that.”

“Maybe my friends and I handled the dragon, but I have no idea what the changelings would have done if they’d caught us back there. I might not be here.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you wouldn’t have died or anything. They’re changelings. The Wonderbolts have dealt with them before. They probably would’ve just captured you and drained you of all positive feelings for the rest of your life.”

Soarin’ snatched a drink off a passing platter and took a swig. “You’ve dealt with changelings before. Is life with you always this crazy?”

“Hey, I could say the same. Seriously though, would you be able to be a Wonderbolt and the Element of Loyalty at the same time?”

“That’s… I don’t know. I mean yes. I mean, I don’t know. Can’t say I’ve tried it yet.” Soarin’ held the champagne glass in his wing and swirled it around, avoiding Rainbow Dash’s intense gaze. “I’m a little envious of you, you know. You must’ve had it so easy getting in.”

He realized that was a poor choice of words as soon as they left his mouth. Now it was Dash’s turn to snatch a fizzy drink off the next tray a waiter brought around. Her brow furrowed. “You think it’s been easy for me.”

The mare took a long drink and looked away. “You and everypony else," she said. She tossed her glass straight up, stepped aside, flourished her wings, and caught the drink with a back hoof. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, the magnificent Sonic Rainboom pony. She’s so radically amazing. Why wouldn’t she be a Wonderbolt when she can do that awesome move?”

Soarin’ knew he’d hit a nerve, but he didn’t know the details and wasn’t sure what to do. Dash kept talking.

“I wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but I wasn’t ready. I basically got onto the team because of one technique. I was so far behind in everything else. I was arrogant and couldn’t see past how cool I thought I was to understand that my teammates were also great ponies. I couldn’t fly in a formation. My flight patterns weren’t precise enough. And so while everypony else got to fly together, I only showed up to perform that one move by myself, alone.” Her voice turned bitter. “The Sonic Rainboom. That’s all anyone ever knows me for.”

Just like that, the wall was back up. Dash didn't continue.

Soarin’ pondered his own personal development. He’d been afraid he would fail to live up to his cutie mark. He’d been discouraged by the fact he still wasn’t there yet. In the past, becoming an elite flyer was a dream so ridiculous it felt okay to go after it since it probably wouldn't happen anyway. In the present he knew he could be a Wonderbolt.

Back then, what Soarin’ lacked was confidence. He had it now. He had the confidence to say aloud, “You changed all of that, Rainbow Dash. Maybe that was the case when you first joined, but it isn't now.”

The Wonderbolt drained the rest of her drink. “Heh. You’re right. I still think about it sometimes, though. What might have happened if nobody took my signature move seriously back then.”

Soarin’ set his empty glass on the table next to them. He took a risk. “I have no idea what that alternate reality looks like, but I do know one thing.” The music shifted out of the melancholy tone of the royal couple’s first dance into something with a beat. “You probably wouldn't be asking me if I wanted to dance.”

Rainbow Dash put on a daring grin and narrowed her eyes to that challenge . “Oh, is that so?” She put her glass down too. “I’ll bet I can dance circles around you, Soarin’.”

Soarin’ turned around with a tail swish and made his way to the floor. “I’d like to see you try.”

If there was one thing Rainbow Dash could not resist, it was a competition.

Spitfire put a forehoof to her head. “You did give Soarin’ the letter, right?”

Rainbow Dash pulled out the invitation to apply for the Academy. “Whoops.”

“Darnit Dash, you had one job.”

“Look! Look! I’m mailing it, see? No big deal. He’s still got plenty of time to apply.”

The Academy week went well. It was what happened after that would test the web of fate.

5 - Mirror Blue

“From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.”

Nothing happened. Twilight expected that. It was an unfinished spell, after all.

The next morning, the unicorn woke up to pounding on her door. She tripped down the stairs rushing to see what it was.

“Girls! What’s wrong?”

Applejack covered her face up with her hat. “Twilight, this mornin’ my family woke up to Pinkie Pie trying to fix a gutter on the barn that wasn’t even broken, and when they found me, I was making dresses!”

“It was quite frightening,” Rarity interjected. “The dresses, I mean, not the fact our cutie marks got switched around.”

“Yeah, well,” Applejack went on, “Applebloom brought me back to the farm and from there we managed to work the problem out on our own. Except.”

Twilight was still trying to comprehend that the spell she’d cast without thinking had altered her friends’ lives. She could have ruined everything! “Except…?”

“I think you’d better take a look for yourself.” Applejack backed out of the doorway. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity moved aside as well.

Twilight stepped out into the bright, clear day. In fact, everything was perfectly normal except the one cloud left in the sky. Kicked back and relaxing on it was a brightly colored mare. Even though she wore no uniform, the Wonderbolt emblem was blazoned on her flank.

“Oh no. So if she’s here, then Soarin’ must be…”

“It gets weirder, Twi.”

Spitfire said in a low voice, “It’s like he’s been here the whole time. He knows everything Rainbow Dash knows. Her room, her schedule, which performances she’s training for, everything about us. How did he even find his way to headquarters?”

Spitfire, Rapidfire, and Fleetfoot gathered in a small group apart from their new guest. Rapidfire’s eyes darted back and forth between his teammates and Soarin’, who sported Dash’s cutie mark. “Something isn’t right. There’s magic at work here.”

Suddenly Surprise was there too. “Dark magic,” she said in a wobbly ghost voice. Shadows blackened her features.

Rapidfire rolled his eyes. “Oh posh, it’s not dark magic Surprise.”

Her ears drooped in disappointment.

Fleetfoot shook her head. She’d been a Wonderbolt longer than anyone on the team, and she did not recognize the spell. “I can’t even think of what it might be. Only the most studied unicorns can cast mind-altering, chaotic, or dark magic, and I’m not sure this is from any of those classes.”

Spitfire snorted. “He hasn’t tried to kill us yet, so that’s a start.”

By now Soarin’ knew his friends were doing their best to ignore him, so he strolled out. He had more fun things to do at the moment besides be excluded.

“I’ll keep track of him,” Surprise said and bounced after the stallion.

“They could be pranking us,” Spitfire suggested.

Fleetfoot overturned that idea on the spot. “Dash can’t come up with that elaborate of a prank on her own. Plus, I don’t think she knows Soarin’ well enough to tell him everything. No, we’re going to have to get some help.”

Nopony felt like trying to get in touch with Princess Luna, which was notoriously difficult to do since she didn’t stay around Canterlot like her sister. Their other options, then, were Princess Celestia, the Canterlot Archives, and the School for Gifted Unicorns. Fleetfoot departed to see if she could find the Headmistress.

Spitfire looked at the doorway Soarin’ had exited not a few minutes ago. “What are we going to do about him in the meantime?”

“If he’s the same as Rainbow Dash, we may as well let him fill in for her. I’ve got a feeling that somewhere, somepony is as confused as we are," Rapidfire said. He left to speak with the librarians at the magic wing of the Canterlot Archives.

Down the hallway, Surprise and Soarin’ kept talking like they were longtime buddies. “Hey Soar, where did you live before you joined the team, anyway?”

“Los Pegasus. I thought you knew that already.”

Surprise tapped her hoof and looked around. Wrong question. She was pretty sure Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash were not both from Los Pegasus. “Ooh! Do you know Rainbow Dash?”

“Who? Are you alright Surprise? I guess you’re probably on a super secret mystery case right now, but if I can help I will.”

“You are helping, I’m just not asking the right questions.” The Wonderbolt ruffled her gold hair with her wing. “I mean, I guess all the Elements of Harmony are from… Ponyville.”

“Yep.”

“Ponyville! I’m so silly; I don’t know how I forgot. Of course that’s it.” She bounced off, and Soarin’ was left to his own devices.

The Wonderbolt opened the door to his room and went to pick up where he’d left off in Wings and Blades, but his collection had been replaced with Daring Do. Even better, somepony – probably Lightning Streak – had replaced the awards he’d won with convincing duplicates bearing Rainbow Dash’s name.

“Very funny guys.” Soarin’ puzzled over the name. Rainbow Dash? Did he know it? There must be an inside joke going around that he hadn’t figured out yet.

Zecora stared into the liquid boiling inside the cauldron at the center of her home.

“You say there are two ponies, both of them blue, that have switched not just cutie marks, but memories too?”

“Sure seems that way,” Applejack said. “’Course there’s something batty about it. Rainbow Dash gets most of the details, but she’s just plain wrong about some things. She seems ta think Cadence and Twi’s brother defeated the changelings, and she was even there for that part! Plus, she don’t remember Soarin’ at all.”

The five friends minus Rainbow Dash (and Soarin') clustered around the cauldron, trying to make sense of the concoction inside. Zecora hid her smile. The ponies failed to realize they were looking at a simple vegetable stew.

Zecora left the bowl and began to chop up some Everfree vegetables while she thought over the problem. She didn’t know either of the pegasi in question well enough, but kindred spirits did have a way of getting their lives tangled. Or untangled, as it may be. One small event could send someone down a path better suited to another, and sometimes it created ripples in history.

“Have you considered the possibility that you have righted a wrong? That perhaps these two ponies were meant to be this way all along?”

“What, that’s ridiculous,” Rarity protested. “The colors of Soarin’s cutie mark clash with Rainbow Dash’s mane.”

“How you helped each other applies to them too. Reunite these two racers and see what they do.”

The sun began to dip to the edge of Equestria. By the time Fluttershy searched Soarin’s house, the friends had run out of places near Ponyville to look. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.

Rainbow Dash raced, driven by a sudden need to soar in no particular direction. No, it was more than that. She had that gut feeling that she needed to do something, but no clue as to what that could be. It was instinct that drove her out of Ponyville and away from the Elements of Harmony enclosed in the glass case at Twilight’s library.

The closer she got to Canterlot, the stronger the sensation grew. Her heart felt like it might burst in two, or grow wings of its own and take off. Her wingbeats grew stronger. Something was calling her. A speck in the sky that became another pegasus.

Dash drew closer to see who it was, and somehow she knew. Even though she’d never seen him before she knew. He noticed her as well, and without thinking they found themselves standing face to face in Celestia’s final minutes. Reds and oranges glowed over their sky colored fur like copies of the sunset.

The stallion in front of her was a Wonderbolt. She’d rescued him at the Best Young Flyer Competition, and tried to show off for him at the Grand Galloping Gala because she wanted to be a Wonderbolt too. They’d danced at the royal wedding. He’d rescued her at the Gala. But also, he’d entered the Wonderbolt Academy in pursuit of his dream and she’d trained him. He was the Element of Loyalty.

How could she know all of this and yet not remember who he was? He couldn’t be all of those things, could he?

As one they reached out like reflections of each other, not sure if the other was real or not.

She saw her own confusion play out in his clouded green gaze. Rainbow Dash’s hoof drew closer to his. “Why do I feel…”

“…like I know you?” he finished.

They touched. For an instant they were there together, two ponies with the same dreams, a mirror of possibilities. Then the fabric of reality swallowed them up, as if they’d never been there at all. Only a lone cloud was there to meet Luna’s field of dreams.

This was not like any sky she had flown before. In fact, as Rainbow Dash regained her senses, she realized she was not flying at all. She floated in place amongst teal mists and stars. A glowing path below beckoned. Her feet stretched for it and she landed on the ethereal plane.

“Hello?” The call echoed into the endless expanse. “Is anypony there?”

“Just a second!” A familiar male voice responded. The sound of it made her head swim and she put a wing to her forehead to clear her mind.

Out of the mist two ponies emerged, footsteps trailing with stars.

“Princess Celestia!” Rainbow Dash forgot to bow. “Did we… die?”

The great alicorn chuckled and her voice sparkled with mirth. “No. It just seems my student has gotten the two of you into an interesting situation. Walk with us. There is something I need to show the two of you.”

As they traveled the illuminated path, screens with moving pictures spread out before them. Dash saw both of her sets of memories played out through them, right up to the moment she'd woken up here. The pictures thinned out and disappeared. An empty trail of shimmering light stretched out ahead.

“The reason you both are here is because you must make a choice.” Celestia stepped out from between the two ponies. She stood between two doorways brimming with white light.

“All around us are countless possibilities. Even a small change can set any of us on a different course. The two of you happen to share a link so close that your paths can tangle up or even coexist. I must admit I am a bit surprised, though. Of the things that could have resulted from Twilight Sparkle casting Star Swirl’s unfinished spell, I was not expecting this anomaly.”

Soarin’ took the information in stride. “What can we do to fix it?”

“Choose which life you want to return to. This,” Celestia indicated to one of the doorways, “leads to the one you came from.” She lowered her wing and turned to look into the other doorway. “This leads to the one you remember.”

“Where I’m a Wonderbolt,” Soarin’ said.

"And I'm the Element of Loyalty," Dash said.

“Once you choose that will be it. The realities will be split.”

Rainbow Dash was trying hard not to turn into Twilight and over think it. “Are you saying that there are two more of us out there who don’t even know this is going on? Is there another you? What happens to all of them when we choose?”

The princess held up her hoof to stem the tide of questions. “Do not worry. This choice is for you. Think about what you want, and know that either way you go, things will work out.”

Both doors were the same at every angle. Dash checked to be sure. “Alright, I’m going to go with this one!” She stood by the door where she was already a Wonderbolt. “I really don’t want to take that test again. I remember how awful it was.”

Soarin’ looked from one door to the next. “Oh come on, Dash. It wasn’t that bad. Still…” His eyes lingered on the path not yet taken, the one opposite Dash. “I’m already a Wonderbolt too.” He walked over to his choice, the door where he was a Wonderbolt.

In that pocket of eternity, the two small ponies stared at their feet. How could they choose either way, when both lives were so real? What happened to their friendships with everyone when they went one way versus the other? Could they not have both at once?

There was something more, though. Rainbow Dash brought her head up and met Soarin’s gaze. They had memories of the time they’d spent together. Small things. Teaching each other, training, dancing, striving to achieve a Wonderbolt dream not yet met. What happened when they walked away from that? As they stood there, some of those moments got clearer and others started to fade away.

Green and magenta eyes shimmered. Will I remember you?

“Wait!” Soarin’ tore free from the light enveloping him. Even though both options were ultimately equal, the real Rainbow Dash was right there in front of him. He’d go with her. It didn’t matter that he had to pass the Wonder Trial again. As he watched her rainbow colors filter into the white light and disappear it got harder to remember. What was he thinking about? He hadn’t even become a Wonderbolt yet, how could he be thinking...

Celestia watched them go. The doors blinked out behind them.

Reflecting on what had happened, she decided it was probably best not to send that portal mirror to the Crystal Empire after all.

The herd of Ponyville friends gathered outside Twilight’s home. Still no sign of either Rainbow Dash or Soarin’.

At that moment, rays of light poured from the night sky. Everypony looked up to the descending, blinding ball of light. It shot down and struck the ground. Applejack shielded her eyes while she tried to get a better look.

“Soarin’? Is that you?”

The stallion leapt into the air. “It’s me!”

“Where they hay you been? We’ve been looking all over for you and Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow Dash? Why were you looking for her? I woke up this morning with this funny feeling, and I went back to bed. Somehow I ended up here.” He swished around in circles, checking to make sure everything was still in place. Two wings, two cutie marks, four hooves, tail, yep yep. “Did I sleep all day?” He started laughing. “I feel fine now. Better than fine. Man, you guys are the greatest friends ever.”

Twilight’s eyes shone. “Friends, of course, that’s it! I know how to finish the spell.”

At that point, nopony knew what was going on, so they all followed Twilight into the library. She pulled out a yellowed notebook and started writing. “From all of us together. Together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.”

Twilight closed the notebook, returned the Elements to their case, wished everypony goodnight, and went to bed.

The day came when Soarin’ was no longer the Element of Loyalty, and the magic stones belonged to the forest again. Maybe he should have cared more about giving up that power, but the fact was that not having to save Equestria every few months created a lot of free time, time that he used on one pony in particular – at least as often as he could come up with excuses to visit Equestria's capitol.

“Guess I never have to prove I can be an Element of Harmony and a Wonderbolt at the same time, huh Dash?”

Behind them, the streets of Canterlot bustled with activity. Delicious aromas wafting from the various vending carts around the festival had brought the two racers down to earth.

"Hold your horses Soarin', you still gotta prove you can be a Wonderbolt in the first place," Dash teased as she shoveled the desserts they'd just ordered into a pair of saddlebags.

Neither of them made any mention of the letter sitting on Soarin's living room table back in Ponyville. The Wonderbolt seal on the front was ripped open.

"Alright," Dash said, securing the clasp over the bags and tossing them over her back while Soarin' dished out bits to the familiar earth pony vendor. "Let's blow this doughnut stand."

Both pegasi flared their wings open. Pony Joe's eyes went wide, but as usual he was too slow to stop them. In a flurry of feathers, Soarin' and Rainbow Dash whipped into the air so fast all the doughnuts sitting out for display on his cart whooshed up and rained down onto the crowd below. Fillies and colts at the festival laughed in delight as they caught frosted delicacies or watched them splat over some unsuspecting noble's face.

"Darnit you two! This is going on your tab!" Pony Joe shouted, hoof raised to the sky.