For a Rainbolt

For a Rainbolt

By SeeNotC

"Looks like it's that time o' the year again," Applejack said matter-of-factly as she gazed at her apple orchard.

"Applebucking season?" asked her friend, a blue, rainbow-maned Pegasus who fluttered in the air beside her.

"Yup." The orange, yellow-maned pony lifted a hoof from the small, grassy hill and waved it in the direction of her fruit-laden trees. "Look at all those ripe apples. If Ah don't harvest them soon, they'll start rottin' on their branches."

"Didn't you have this same problem last year?" jabbed the aptly-named Rainbow Dash.

"Yup. Ah don't know how it always comes down to the line like this, but it does," Applejack wearily acknowledged, shifting her wide-brimmed cowboy hat to better protect her eyes from the brilliant, golden rays of the setting sun. "Big Macintosh's in Fillydelphia closin' a deal, and Applebloom's still too young to be much help."

"You don't have to do it all yourself, you know," the Pegasus reminded her friend. "You've got me to help you out."

"Now, Ah couldn't impose on you like that--" Applejack began, but before she could continue, Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground directly in front of her.

"Like I said: remember what happened last year? You nearly worked yourself to death, and ruined everypony else's week in the process."

"Now, Rainbow, Ah promise you that won't happen again--"

Rainbow leaned towards her friend, close enough that the orange pony took half a step backwards. "Of course it won't, because I'll be helping you buck apples tomorrow whether you like it or not."

With that, the blue Pegasus leaped lightly into the air. "Applejack, you can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Comin' from you, Ah'll take that as a compliment," Applejack grumbled.

Rainbow's ears suddenly pricked up, and she gazed into the distance behind her friend. "What's that?"

Applejack squinted and turned around, her hat casting a long shadown in the direction she was looking. "Ah'm not sure... but it sounds like it's comin' from Canterlot."

The low, whooshing rumble grew louder. Soon, Applejack could make out six specks in the sky, growing rapidly larger and flying in formation.

"It's the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly, just as the famous flying team passed overhead. Each of the blue-uniformed Pegasi left a magical contrail of black cloud and crackling electricity.

"What?" Applejack shouted over the roar; but the expression of pure joy on her Pegasus friend's face spoke volumes more than Rainbow's unheard exclamation. Rainbow Dash idolized the Wonderbolts even more than Applebloom's best friend, Scootaloo, idolized Rainbow Dash.

"Where do you think they're going?" Rainbow bubbled excitedly. She continued, not waiting for a response. "Did I tell you the Wonderbolts are holding open tryouts in the Cloudsdale Coliseum next month?"

"Only six times last week," Applejack deadpanned. "And Ah expect they're goin' to the Everfree Forest, considerin' the direction they're flyin' in. The Wonderbolt's aren't just stunt fliers, Rainbow; they're Canterlot's official first-respondents and military reconnaissance team. Somepony prob'ly got lost in there and needed help."

Rainbow Dash beat her wings harder, until she hovered even with the Wonderbolts' rapidly dissipating contrails. "They're still going."

"Leave 'em be, Rainbow. Y'all didn't think they'd stop for us, did ya?"

"Well, no, but..." Rainbow's voice trailed off, and she squinted into the setting sun. "I've still got time left, don't you think?"

"Time for what?" Applejack craned her head upwards.

"Practice!" Rainbow Dash called down to her.

"It's almost nighttime, Rainbow! You'll hurt yerself!"

Rainbow Dash beat her wings quickly, drifting even higher above the orchard. "Hurt myself on what, a cloud? I know what I'm doing! Besides, I've only got four weeks left!"

"Now, you get down here, Rainbow!" Applejack demanded, stomping a hoof into the grass.

The cocky Pegasus only flapped harder, flying quickly in the direction of her hoof-built, floating cloud-castle. "Sorry! Gotta train!"

Applejack shook her head in frustration, sending her cowboy hat tumbling into the dirt and her yellow ponytail swinging back and forth. "Don't work too hard!" the orange pony called after her friend, adding, "We've still gotta buck apples tomorrow."

***

Rainbow Dash lay on a puffy, cumulus cloud, hind legs crossed and forelegs folded behind her head, watching the stars come out. If a pony paid enough attention to the evening sky, he or she could see Princess Luna arranging all the heavenly bodies into perfect order. At least, that was what Rainbow's mom had always said.

When Rainbow was a filly, she'd never seen anything like that. She'd seen stars, and sometimes shooting stars, but she'd never been lucky enough to glimpse the fabled goddess of the night.

To be fair, Luna had been trapped on the moon when Rainbow was a filly. And tonight, Rainbow thought she saw something--an indigo ripple, moving in expanding, concentric circles from about the same place Canterlot would be, if anypony could even see it from so far away, and in the darkness at that. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make her wonder--another thing Rainbow's mother had complained that her daughter didn't do enough of.

Shaking away her moment of contemplation, Rainbow Dash rolled off her cloud and began to fly clockwise in a wide ring. Once, twice thrice; then again, faster, more times than she could count, Rainbow Dash flew circles around the cloud she had just been resting on. Soon, clouds from all across the skyscape drifted towards her as the currents of air drifting in her wake condensed into a wide, disk-shaped vortex.

Throwing out her right wing, the blue Pegasus let herself glide away from her miniature tempest. After ensuring that the windstorm was still spinning on its own, Rainbow Dash launched herself upwards. Her eyes met the full moon far above her, and she gazed at it for several long seconds.

Then she tucked her head between her hooves and flipped a full one-hundred-eighty degrees, diving straight towards the windstorm's center. The spinning clouds lit up with a multicolored flash as Rainbow Dash's glowing, rainbow-colored contrail pierced through them.

Dizzily, the athletic Pegasus re-oriented herself as the multi-chromatic beams slowly faded from the sky. A few gusts of wind and curly wisps of cloud buffeted Rainbow's mane as she flew back to the place the vortex had been. The strength and speed of her dive had completely obliterated her miniature storm.

"It's missing... something," Rainbow said to herself as she observed the remnants of her latest stunt. "It was cool, but it wasn't... cool. It wasn't me. It needs more flair."

"Rarity would know what to do," Rainbow grumbled as she fluttered towards her mansion.

The Pegasus landed heavily on the moonlit lawn, her hooves sending up light puffs of cloud-stuff. Rainbow Dashed nudged the front door open with a shoulder, then closed it behind her with a light buck. The gentle poof of the closing door was immediately absorbed by the soft, cloudy walls of her empty house.

Rainbow hung her head and walked slowly up the grand double-staircase of her mansion's foyer, suddenly overcome with weariness... and loneliness. Someday, she would be famous. That was what she'd always told herself, right? She would be famous, and have friends and parties at her house every night, and maybe even a family--a special somepony to wait at home for her.

Someday... but not tonight.

"'Night, Tank," Rainbow muttered to her pet tortoise as she slipped into her queen-size bed. The blue Pegasus closed her violet eyes... then opened them, rolled over, and gazed out her window at the nighttime sky. Eventually, Rainbow Dash fell asleep, gazing at the moon.

***

The charry-red Pegasus stallion flew a single loop around the Cloudsdale Coliseum, moving his hooves as though he were trotting on thin air. Thin tongues of golden flame danced across his contrail's smoky clouds.

"Not bad," One of the Wonderbolt judges, an orange-haired mare by the name of Spitfire, remarked to her teammate, a cyan stallion named Soarin'.

From her place at the head of the line, Rainbow Dash suppressed a smirk. Rainbow had trained with Fireline before, back in flying school. He was a quick learner and a solid flier, but his tricks were unoriginal. Soarin' himself had performed the trotting-on-air stunt at the Royal Air Show only a year before. And Fireline wasn't nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire clopped her hooves together, from her position on the judges' cloud. "Rainbow Dash! Please step forward."

Rainbow grinned and trotted confidently to the candidates' launch podium at the far end of the Coliseum. Rainbow had a new trick in her saddlebags, so to speak--the Rainbolt, a never-before-seen amalgamation of Pegasi weather magic and her legendary Sonic Rainboom.

The eyes of thousands of spectators followed her as Rainbow stepped up to the platform. These ponies were eager to see yet another amazing routine, and Rainbow Dash was ready to deliver.

"Rainbow Dash, you may begin when ready."

Rainbow's smile spread even wider as she remained standing on the platform. You may begin when ready. This was her competition. Rainbow would start her routine when she felt like it, and not a moment before.

One second passed, and then another. Finally, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and leaped lightly into the air. Up she flew, above the highest ring of seats, then even higher. After reaching a respectable height, she tucked her head, folded her wings, and dove.

Rainbow pulled out of the breathless dive just before passing beyond the open floor of the stadium, converting all of her downward speed into forward momentum. A shining, rainbow contrail streamed from her multicolored tail as she 'trotted' a circuit of the stadium. Take that, Fireline.

Maintaining her contrail, as well as her unbelievable speed, Rainbow corkscrewed back into the sky and began flying rings above the stadium. An icy windchill clawed at her light blue coat, but Rainbow Dash only increased her speed. Speed was critical to creating the self-sustaining windstorm, and this vortex was the largest Rainbow had attempted yet.

The cocky Pegasus sped up, causing the pressure at the center of the vortex dropped dramatically. Rainbow struggled to avoid being sucked in. The sky around her darkened as loose clouds from all over Cloudsdale rushed to fill the vacuum. Finally, Rainbow Dash angled herself upwards; leaving the maelstrom raging below her, she dashed ever higher into the sky. Then, as she had before, she folded her body and dove.

Rainbow gritted her teeth as a narrow cone formed ahead of her. This was the crucial moment. Summoning all of the weather magic she had ever learned in flight school, Rainbow gathered an electric charge directly.

The Mach cone narrowed ever further, and lightining danced across the surface of the vortex, leaping out to meet the charge that the daredevil Pegasus had conjured around her. At almost the same instant, Rainbow Dash's signature Sonic Rainboom erupted across the sky. Magic and lightning merged and melded together. With a thunderous roar, a brilliant Rainbolt erupted from the swirling clouds, Rainbow Dash flying at its tip.

As one, the Wonderbolt judges donned their goggles, to protect their eyes from the sudden magical discharge. They peered over the edge of their judges' cloud, gazing past the Coliseum's open 'floor' to search for Rainbow Dash.

Flapping nonchalantly, Rainbow casually tossed her mane and returned to the center of the arena.

Soarin' started the applause, clopping his hooves slowly and nodding in appreciation of the truly awe-inspiring stunt. Spitfire joined in, and suddenly the whole Coliseum was in an uproar, stamping their hooves and chanting their new hero's name.

"We have a winner!" Spitfire's voice, magically amplified by a device built into the judge's table, cut through the feverish applause. "Rainbow Dash, welcome to the Wonderbolts!"

"Ohmygosh!" Trembling, Rainbow raised her hooves to hide her face, although by now her smile was much too large to conceal. This was happening--her lifelong dream had come true! Spitfire herself was presenting Rainbow Dash with a brand-new Wonderbolt outfit; even Fireline was there to congratulate her.

But really, could there have ever been any doubt? After all, her destiny was written on her flank--it was fame, fortune, and everything that went along with it. It was the Rainbolt, Rainbow Dash's new signature move, the physical manifestation of her cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash stretched out her hooves to receive her new uniform--and her hooves passed completely through it. The uniform was intangible, nonexistent. So was Spitfire, and Soarin', and Fireline; then Rainbow Dash's wings would not support her, and she was falling, down past the Coliseum and the spectators and the crowds...

...and right back into her bed, in her magnificently empty cloud castle, where a single ray of sun reached through Rainbow Dash's open window and prodded her into wakefulness.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes.

"Celesetia damn it!" the blue Pegasus sobbed. "Just a dream... all of it was just a dream."

"But maybe not all of it," she hiccuped, turning her head and letting her violet eyes rest on her cutie mark.

The Rainbolt. Her ticket into the Wonderbolts, and the rest of her life. Her destiny.

Forget applebucking. Rainbow Dash had a new stunt to try.

***

That morning, Applejack rose with the sunrise. Lifting her hat in her teeth from its customary place on her bedpost, she tossed it lightly into the air with such precision that it landed neatly on her head. The orange pony then trotted to her younger sister's bedroom and rapped gently on the door with a forehoof.

"C'mon, Applebloom. Time to wake up."

The creak of a mattress and the rustle of bedsheets were all that greeted the older pony's request.

Applejack knocked again, more insistently. "Wake up, Applebloom."

This time, the filly responded, complaining, "It's barely sunrise!"

Applejack nudged the door open to reveal her younger sister busily burying her head under a pile of pillows.

"Now, don't be like that," the orange mare scolded. "Didn't you say you wanted to help me and Rainbow Dash this season?"

The yellow filly lifted her head to face her older sister's stern gaze, then finally trudged to her door.

"If Ah'd know helpin' ya meant wakin' up this early, Ah'd 'a reconsidered my offer."

"It won't be that bad," the older pony promised. "You go set out the baskets while Ah make you breakfast. So long as you do that, me and R.D'll have the trees clear in a jiffy."

True to her word, Applejack cooked her younger sister a healthy oatmeal breakfast as Applebloom dutifully distributed all of the Apple family's apple-bucking baskets among the trees of the orchard's nearest grove. Once the filly had finished her morning chore, the two sisters shared a hearty meal, with Applejack occasionally stealing glances at the rapidly rising sun.

Applebloom was first to voice the obvious question. "Shouldn't Rainbow Dash be here by now?"

"She said she would be," Applejack agreed. "Ah swear, that Pegasus's an even later sleeper than you."

Applebloom cleared her dishes, then stood by the kitchen door shuffling her hooves. "Need me to help ya buck apples today, sis?"

Applejack shook her head firmly. Applebloom was much too young to attempt such difficult manual labor, but Applejack wasn't about to tell her that. Applebloom would inevitably take it as a challenge, and would work herself to exhaustion. In that way, the young filly was much like her older sister.

"Fair's fair," Applejack said instead. "Ya've done all Ah asked of you. Now go play with your friends, Sweetie and Scoots. There's a good girl."

Applebloom nodded. She skipped out of the house and down the farm's dirt road, already dreaming up a hoof-full of new misadventures for her and her friends to attempt.

She stopped suddenly, eyes pointed upwards.

"Big sis!" The filly exclaimed. "There's a pony flyin' over the Everfree Forest!"

Jaw set with suspicion, Applejack followed her younger sister outside. "Where, now?"

"There." Applebloom pointed, her hoof indicating a distant, blue speck.

Applejack had difficulty distinguishing the blue Pegasus flier from the intense, clear cerulean of Equestria's summer sky. On the other hoof, how many other blue Pegasi would be flying this early in the morning?

The Pegasus abruptly turned, confirming Applejack's suspicions by flashing her multicolored mane and tail. This Pegasus was, indeed, the 'one and only' Rainbow Dash.

"Ah thought she promised to help ya buck apples today," Applebloom complained, confused.

"So did I," her older sister returned.

"Ah can still help, ya know."

"No, no." Applejack nudged her younger sister onwards. "Ah'm sure she just forgot."

Applejack forced a smile and wave as Applebloom trotted down the road, with notably less bounce in her gait than she'd had before.

"Ah've done this work before," Applejack said to herself as soon as her younger sister was out of earshot. "Ah guess Ah'll just have to do it by mahself this year... again."

***

"C'mon, Rainbow! You promised you'd help me buck apples this season!" Applejack shouted as the multicolored streak passed over her farm yet again. But the blue Pegasus either ignored her friend's angry admonishment intentionally, or was flying too high and too fast to hear.

Applejack sighed wearily and shifted the heavy baskets of apples that she'd strapped across her back. After working six ten-hour days, the orange mare had collected barely a fifth of her crop. At this rate, the Apple family was set to lose a significant portion of their crop--not enough to put them out of business, but enough to cut into their autumn cider supply, and certainly enough to strain their finances during the winter months.

"Ah'll just have to wake up earlier, then," the hardworking pony said to herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you talking to me?" came a soft, shy voice from behind.

Applejack jumped and spun around as quickly as her heavy burden would allow. "Fluttershy! Ya right startled me. How can Ah help?"

"Oh! Sorry." The pink-maned Pegasus bowed her head and took a half-step backwards. "Although, it looks like you're the one who needs help today."

Applejack shook her head in frustration and made her way back to the farmhouse, where many more bushels of apples were arranged in orderly rows. Fluttershy followed close behind.

"Ah don't want to be rude," Applejack said, shaking off her load, "but mah little sis would be more help than you. Now, what brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I'm... it's just..." Fluttershy stuttered.

"C'mon, girl. Spit it out."

"Okay..." Fluttershy agreed. "Well, two weeks ago, Rarity invited you and I to go to the spa with her. You said you might be able to go as long as you finished your applebucking on time. And last Sunday you sent Rarity and I a letter with the evening post, saying that you would definitely go with us, because Rainbow Dash was going to help you buck apples this week. And when you didn't arrive at the spa on time, I knew something had to be wrong, because you never break a promise without a good reason. So I came here to check on you, and..."

Fluttershy's voice trailed off as Applejack shut her eyes and shook her head sadly back and forth.

"And Ah'm not even halfway done with mah applebucking," Applejack finished. "Gosh darn it, Fluttershy, Ah'm sorry. Ah thought Ah'd have time to go with y'all. But Rainbow Dash hasn't showed up all week, and between all this work and wonderin' what's got into that crazy mare, Ah clean forgot about our spa date."

The two ponies turned their faces to the sky, where a tiny blue speck made yet another diving turn.

"Is that...?" Fluttershy began.

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack finished. "A-yup. She's been doin' that all week, obsessin' over some Wonderbolts tryout. Ta tell ya the truth, Ah don't know how Ah'm gonna get these apples in on time without her."

The blue speck began to fly in a circle. Faster and faster the Pegasus flew, until Applejack and Fluttershy could see nothing but a rainbow-colored blur. Gray clouds gathered in the circle's center, and lightning sparked across its surface. Even from the ground, Fluttershy and Applejack could feel a light breeze begin to blow, stirring the grass and rustling the leaves on the apple trees.

"What do you think she's doing?" Fluttershy asked, in curiosity and in worry.

"Besides practicin'? Ah have no idea," Applejack responded.

***

Rainbow Dash climbed--first to the cloud ceiling, then to the height of the tallest mountain in the Ponyville area. She paused at the approximate level of Cloudsdale's Coliseum, then flew higher still. As a gust of frigid wind clawed at the sensitive skin beneath her feathers, Rainbow Dash paused and glanced downwards again. She saw her hoof-made tempest boiling below her, small and innocent as a golden bit.

Rainbow knew that if she didn't pull out of her dive at exactly the right moment, she'd splatter herself all over the Everfree below. But Rainbow Dash was not the kind of Pegasus who would let risk, or even common sense, dictate her decisions. Besides, if she started from any lower, she might not have enough speed to pull off a Sonic Rainboom.

Hovering just below the jetstream, Rainbow allowed herself a moment of contemplation.

This was the moment her future diverged. If she succeeded, she'd perform the most amazing flying stunt in the history of Equestria. Success today was equivalent to a successful audition. She'd secure a place in the Wonderbolts, and in the hearts and minds of ponies for generations to come. She'd make dozens of new friends, thousands of fans, and would maybe even find a stallion worth settling down with. But if she failed...

...then nothing. No fame, no fortune. She'd be stuck on Ponyville Weather Patrol for the rest of her life, and do... what? Buck clouds and apple trees until she was an old mare, with a gray mane and grayer tail?

Rainbow Dash had never dived from such a height. The prospect of injury or death was real, and was truly frightening. But if she failed or gave up, her life would essentially end now.

She closed her violet eyes, letting her thoughts and worries dissipate with the next gust of wind, replaced by years of training and dedication--and one particular dream. When she opened her eyes again, it was not the forest or the storm she saw, but a smiling Spitfire handing her a new Wonderbolts uniform.

Holding this single image in her mind, Rainbow Dash pointed her head downwards and folded her wings to her sides.

***

"By Celestia, she's doin' it," Applejack breathed. Already, a vivid rainbow contrail streamed behind the rapidly falling Pegasus.

"What's she doing?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"Only the most damn foolish thing Ah've ever seen," Applejack replied harshly.

***

The forest and the lightning storm above it spun dizzyingly as Rainbow Dash corkscrewed downwards. The Pegasus nudged one of her wings slightly open, trying to match her rotation with the rotation of the vortex below. Wind roared past her flattened ears, replaced by an almost malevolent hiss as a vivid, white Mach cone appeared in front of her.

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash summoned a ball of lightning between her forehooves. It took all of her concentration to hold the sparking, energetic sphere in front of her.

Suddenly, a familiar and heart-wrenching image caught her attention--a field of apple trees, still laden with fruit, and two ponies watching her plunge heedlessly through the sky.

Rainbow Dash threw out a wing to turn herself away, but the image had already shattered her vision of the smiling Wonderbolt commander. She spun wildly off-center; bolts of lightning crashed all around her, and the ground was approaching at an alarming rate.

Rainbow Dash punched through the outer edge of her storm in a blinding flash and an ear-splitting explosion. Her mane burst into flames, and she barely managed to open her wings before crashing into the upper boughs of the Everfree.

***

The snap of thunder echoed across the silent, dusty farm as the smoking Pegasus disappeared into the forest.

"Fly to Ponyville," said Applejack to a stunned and gaping Fluttershy, as soon as the two of them had regained their senses.

Still blinking, Fluttershy turned slowly to stare blankly at her friend.

"You heard me!" Applejack ordered. "Fly to Ponyville General and tell them to get ready for a patient. Fly as fast as you can!"

"But Applejack, what will you do?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

Already, the Earth pony was charging towards the trees.

"Ah'm goin' ta help Rainbow Dash!"

***

Click-click. Click-click. Click-click.

Vaguely, Rainbow Dash became aware of an incessant tapping, and an equally vague suggestion of motion.

Click-clop. Click-click. Click-clop-clop. Click-

A glowing, pink corona suddenly enveloped the wounded Pegasus. The magic threw open her eyes and lifted her bodily into the air--or would have, had she not been strapped face-up to a rolling medical trolly.

Rainbow's eyes rolled wildly. Surrounded by stern-faced doctors, the violet orbs settled on the only comforting image in the immediate vicinity--a friendly pink butterfly, emblazoned on one of the yellow pads the doctors had affixed to her chest.

The pads disappeared, replaced by a cold metal ring, and a concerned, female voice. "It didn't work. We're losing her."

"Hit her again." This voice was stern, and male.

Rainbow couldn't see very well--her vision kept fading in and out, and an endless stream of bright lights flashed by overhead as the medical ponies pushed her down the hall. She did glimpse what looked like a clear, white crystal levitate out of the orange cylinder attached to the two yellow pads. The clear crystal disappeared beyond her narrow field of vision, and a glowing, pink crystal took its place.

The female medical pony lowered the pads again. "Clear."

The surge of magical energy returned, and Rainbow's body convulsed.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. One of the medical ponies was beating a drum on her chest.

No, that wasn't a drum. That was her heartbeat. Funny; she hadn't even noticed it was gone.

"She's back. For now."

"Thank Celestia."

The pair of medical ponies rushed her down the hall as Rainbow slipped back into the blackness.

Click-click-clop. Thump-thump. Click-clop-click...

***

Rainbow Dash sat straight upright in bed, her heart pounding and her chest heaving. Her eyes darted to take in the details of her surroundings--the panel of lights above her, the bland green curtains and wallpaper, the tubes and machines attached to various parts of her body. She appeared to be in a medical ward.

Only, something didn't feel right. There were no other patients or doctors. In fact, Rainbow Dash couldn't hear anypony else at all. The panels of lighting above her were nonfunctional, as were the medical devices that were supposed to be keeping her alive. Most unsettling of all, the IV bags feeding the tubes attached to her forelegs were both empty, as though the doctors had rushed Rainbow into this ward in preparation for surgery, only to forget about her entirely.

A rhythmic clopping from the hall outside commanded Rainbow's attention. Ears pricked towards the door, the wounded Pegasus watched as the frosted windows opposite her bed glowed with a pair of vivid lights--one a deep indigo, the other a bright yellow-orange.

Walking side by side, a pair of Alicorns entered the room through the ward's open door.

"Luna! Celestia!" Rainbow Dash breathed in awe.

The royal sisters nodded, stepping forward to stand on opposite sides of Rainbow Dash's bed. Rainbow lowered her head in respect.

A moment passed, and the royal sisters said nothing. After another moment, the Pegasus looked up again, blinking as she tried to regain her composure.

Still, the royal sisters remained silent. It soon became clear that they were not going to speak.

Rainbow Dash coughed. "I don't mean to be rude, but... why are you here?"

The two sisters glanced at each other, then returned their attention to the Pegasus.

Rainbow tried again. "I mean... I appreciate the visit, and all, but don't the two of you have a kingdom to be ruling?"

"We do," said Celestia kindly, "and we are. But in your time of trouble, we thought it prudent to visit you as well."

Rainbow Dash struggled to understand. "So... you're in two places at once?"

The two Alicorns nodded.

"You're here with me, and you're back in Canterlot... but where's everypony else? My friends, the patients, the medical ponies? They're... they're..." Rainbow mused.

Then the Pegasus' eyes filled with tears. "This... means I'm dying, doesn't it? That's why nopony is here, except for you two. I'm dying, and you two are bringing my soul to Pony Heaven, and I'll never see any of my friends again..."

The blue Pegasus sobbed quietly to herself. The royal sisters knelt at a respectful distance, allowing Rainbow Dash her moment of revelation. When Rainbow was done crying, Luna leaned across the bed and nuzzled away the blue mare's tears.

Rainbow faced Celestia desperately. "Save me. Please? You can do it, right? You're the been alive for over a thousand years. If anypony in Equestria understands life and death, it's you."

Celestia was already shaking her head. "The will to live comes from within, Rainbow Dash. Only you can save yourself."

"But you're the sun goddess!" Rainbow protested frantically. "Please. I don't want to die. There's still so much I want to do!"

"Then stay alive," Celestia replied simply.

"But I am dying!” The Pegasus exclaimed. “Aren't I?"

Once again, the goddesses remained silent.

Rainbow Dash then turned to Luna, who remained kneeling at the blue mare's bedside. "Forgive me, at least. You understand forgiveness, right? You tried to take over Equestria once, but Celestia still forgave you."

The Pegasus sniffed, and then took a steadying breath. "I broke my promise to Applejack yesterday. I think that's why I crashed--the guilt broke my concentration. Well, if I have to die for it, I want to go peacefully. I don't want the mistakes of my life to follow me into death."

But Luna, like Celestia, merely shook her head. "I cannot give you, or anypony else, the forgiveness which you seek. True forgiveness is a mutual agreement between yourself and your friends. You must be ready to accept your friends' forgiveness, just as they must be willing to offer it."

Rainbow's ears fell flat against her head, and she collapsed onto her pillow. "Then I'm doomed," she stated flatly.

Then Celestia stepped forward. "You are not doomed, little filly. Merely confused. Rest, now, and make your choice."

The sun goddess nuzzled Rainbow's multicolored mane, as darkness once again crept about the edges of the Pegasus's vision. "Rest, now, and make your choice..."

***

Rainbow gradually opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a pale sky and yet another empty room. This was her bedroom, Rainbow realized, as her hooves jostled the mattress of her opulent queen-sized bed. Only, something still felt wrong.

Tank's cage was gone, replaced by a stopped clock atop the otherwise empty nightstand. Across the room stood one of Rarity's mannequins.

The mannequin wore a cleanly-pressed, blue-and-yellow Wonderbolts uniform. And behind the mannequin was a wall, covered in plaques and shelves of trophies.

Rainbow gasped and leaned closer, trying to read the plaques. Equestria's fastest flier, one read. Equestria's greatest stunt flier, read another. At the bottom of each award was a name... a name Rainbow Dash could not read. No matter how hard she squinted, her eyes seemed unable to focus.

Dust rose from her bedsheets, and her left foreleg twinged with pain as Rainbow Dash crawled towards the Wonderbolts uniform. Rainbow reached the edge of the bed, but still, the names on the plaques remained fuzzy. Grimacing, she tumbled onto the floor and pressed onwards, even when her foreleg buckled beneath her, causing her to cry out in alarm and pain.

Lying prostrate at the foot of the mannequin, Rainbow Dash gazed upwards, reading the nearest plaque in its entirety. In recognition of twenty years of service, it began.

The name...

...was not hers. Rainbow didn't know or care whose name it was--all that mattered was that the name was wrong.

The tags that hung from the mannequin shared the same name emblazoned on the plaque. The jersey wasn't hers. And if the Wonderbolts jersey wasn't hers, neither was the bed, or the house, or the life that all of those accomplishments represented.

Suddenly, Rainbow felt a sensation of palpable emptiness, a physical wrongness so strong that it crushed her against the floor. This was not her place.

Alone and helpless, Rainbow curled into a ball.

"I want to go home," she whispered to herself. "Please, Luna. Please, Celestia. Please, just send me home."

***

"Rainbow? C'mon, Rainbow, wake up." Soaked by the summer rain that had followed the blue Pegasus’ hoof-made storm, the orange mare knelt in the mud next to her sobbing friend. "Y'all had a rough time up there, but it's time to come home now."

"Applejack?" The Pegasus lifted her wet face from out of the dirt.

"Yes, Rainbow?" Applejack replied, concerned for her friend but immensely relieved at Rainbow Dash's response.

"I'm sorry I never helped you buck apples this week."

"I..." The orange pony groped for words. "Aw, shucks, Rainbow, that ain't important now."

"But do you forgive me?" Rainbow Dash insisted. "I've been a horrible friend. You're always so honest, and I promised to help you, but I didn't. I left you to do all that hard work by yourself, just because I wanted to be famous... please, forgive me. I promise to never break a promise again."

Somehow, Applejack knew that the distraught Pegasus wouldn't go anywhere until she got an answer to her question.

"Ah forgive ya, Rainbow," Applejack said sincerely.

"Thanks." Rainbow stood, wobbling. She trudged forward, then fell heavily as her left foreleg collapsed painfully beneath her.

"Ow."

"Don't try to stand!" Applejack ordered, darting to her friend's side as Rainbow struggled to rise again.

The orange pony lowered her head, throwing Rainbow's injured leg across her back. "Here, Ah'll help ya. That better?"

The two friends stood unsteadily and began to walk, Rainbow Dash resting much of her weight on Applejack as she hopped forward on her three good legs. Applejack noticed how Rainbow's eyes darted everywhere, from the dripping trees to the remnants of her lightning storm, without settling or focusing on anything. A concerned frown crossed the farm-pony's face. The Pegasus was obviously in shock.

"Where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked after a few minutes of tedious hopping and shuffling.

"Ponyville General Hospital," Applejack grunted.

"That's a long way," Rainbow observed distantly.

"Ah know." The strain of supporting the injured Pegasus was obvious in her voice; Applejack wondered whether Rainbow Dash, in her traumatized state, could even feel the pain. "Y'all just gotta keep walking."

The two ponies stumbled over a half-buried root, and Rainbow Dash winced. That was good, Applejack thought as she grunted with effort; it meant her friend's awareness was returning.

"I can fly there myself," Rainbow offered. "You don't have to carry me."

Despite the grim situation, Applejack laughed. "Rainbow, there ain't no way in Tartarus anypony's lettin' ya fly again today."

***

Click-click.

The doctor, a gray Earth pony with a stethoscope cutie mark, toggled a pedal with this right forehoof. The projector he'd rolled into the room responded by switching to an x-ray image of the area surrounding Rainbow Dash's chest and left foreleg.

"As these images show, you've cracked several ribs and fractured your leg in two separate places. I had the technicians circle the worst breaks in red."

Rainbow Dash grimaced. Thanks to a morphine drip, an emergency healing potion, and nearly seventy-two hours of unbroken sleep, Rainbow was feeling almost herself again. Well, the morphine hadn't helped with that, but it certainly had killed the initial, crippling pain, and let her fall into a long, deliriously happy sleep. Truthfully, Rainbow had been a little sad when the nursing team had rolled the IV cart away.

Click-click. The slide changed again, this time to an image of Rainbow's left wing.

"You've also torn your Primary Flight Ligament. In some cases, we can repair this with a simple operation--open you up, sew the ligament back together, and let your body do the rest. In your case, this won't be so easy."

Click-click.

"The damaged area in question is buried deep in your shoulder. Fortunately, the tear is small, and should heal perfectly fine on its own. We can't just cast a wing in plaster like we did to your leg, so all I ask is that you stay off your wing until it's completely healed. That means no jumping, gliding, or flying--in fact, I don't want you to even move that wing, beyond the physical therapy exercises our nursing team put together for you."

Click-click.

The slideshow ended. "Any questions?"

Rainbow cleared her throat and spoke up. "Um, yeah. How long am I stuck on the ground, exactly?"

The doctor responded promptly and curtly. "Six weeks, minimum, before the cast can come off. I recommend not flying for two weeks after that."

"Eight weeks!?" Rainbow gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed and wincing at the pain that immediately shot through her wing.

"I can't just not fly for eight weeks!" The Pegasus continued. "The Wonderbolts auditions are less than four weeks away! There's got to be something you can do to help me heal faster!"

"Rainbow Dash, I'm going to be brutally honest with you," the doctor cut in. "You're lucky to be alive, and the reckless and brash attitude you're showing me now is exactly the reason you injured yourself in the first place."

The gray pony paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Now, regarding healing potions: the potions we use are potent, and toxic in large amounts. They also lose their effectiveness the more frequently they're ingested. I can use magic to help you heal, but I can't magically make you better--if that makes any sense at all. So, my answer is no. No, there is no way I, or anypony else, make you better in time for the Wonderbolts auditions. And frankly, I'm glad there isn't."

"But..." Rainbow sniffed and hiccuped. "But you don't understand. The Wonderbolts don't accept new members just anytime--they only hold auditions when one of their members retires. I won't be young enough to fly with them the next time they accept a new recruit."

Her voice fell as she finished. "This... was my last chance."

The doctor's visage softened a bit at the look of sheer disappointment on Rainbow's face. He shuffled his hooves as he tried to think of something comforting to say.

"Think of this as a do-over," he finally suggested. "You probably won't fly with the Wonderbolts--but so what? Think of all the talented Pegasi that audition and don't succeed. They move on, and live perfectly happy lives. Besides, you're still young, and youth is a gift a lot of ponies, myself included, no longer have. Eight weeks from now, your cast will come off, your wing will be healed, and you'll have a fresh, new start--and that's a gift that a lot of ponies are never fortunate enough to receive."

The doctor turned his back on Rainbow and pushed the cart into the hall. Then he faced her again, and smiled. "You've got the rest of your life to find out what your passion is. But for now, rest up. Visiting hours start soon, and I'm sure you'll have more than a few friends who want to check up on you."

***

The gray doctor was right. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, even Spike--each came in their own time, and said their own words of comfort. Rainbow Dash found herself wondering if they'd staggered their visits intentionally, to ensure that she never spent a full day alone.

Applejack arrived the day before Rainbow was due to be released. The orange pony took a seat by the Pegasus's bed, as Rainbow Dash heaved a deep sigh.

"Did you manage to bring in all the apples?" Rainbow asked, when she'd finally found the strength in her to speak.

"Yup," said Applejack. "Didn't have to do it muhself, neither. Everypony found a bit o’ time ta help. Big Mac even cut his sales trip short ta help out."

Rainbow hung her head at the sound of that. "He didn't make the sale, then."

"As a matter o’ fact, he did. Y'all know him--saves his words for when they matter most."

Rainbow found herself grinning at that, but her smile quickly faded. "I'm sorry for putting all of you through this, all because I wanted to be famous. If I'd known how much trouble I'd cause--"

"Now Rainbow, don't start on that again," Applejack snapped. "Nopony's blamin' ya. Ya made a silly mistake, and we've forgiven ya for it. Sides, ya paid a mighty high price yerself. There ain't no reason ta put yerself through any more grief about things that're already done."

"Ah brought some things for ya." Applejack stuffed her nose into her saddlebags. Whens she lifted her head again, she was holding a beige envelope clenched between her teeth.

Opening her mouth, Applejack let the envelope fall onto Rainbow's bed. "Y'all won't be flyin' in the audition, but that ain't no reason for ya ta miss it."

With a trembling hoof, Rainbow reached out to touch the envelope. "Tickets to the audition?"

"Yup. Box seats an' everything." Applejack rose and made her way to the door.

Rainbow could barely speak. "Box seats? Applejack, those are really expensive!"

"Well, it's a good thing Ah didn't pay for 'em, then." Applejack stuck her head out the door. "Y'all can c'mon in now, Spitfire."

This time, the blue Pegasus really was speechless. Rainbow nearly choked at the sight of the bright, yellow Pegasus with the shocking red-and-orange mane. Although Spitfire was out of uniform, her trademark flying goggles still hung from around her neck, and rustled loosely as she took Applejack's previous place at the side of Rainbow's bed.

"Ah'll just be goin' now," Applejack said from her spot by the door. "You two girls have fun."

"Sure." Rainbow Dash managed to make eye contact with the orange pony long enough to say goodbye, before returning her attention to her lifelong hero.

The two Pegasi sat in silence for several moments, and it occurred Rainbow that although she had read about Spitfire's many exploits, and even attended several Wonderbolts expositions, the yellow Pegasus sitting by her side was essentially a stranger to her.

"So, I hear you're a pretty big fan," Spitfire finally began.

"I guess," Rainbow admitted sheepishly. "I was going to audition this year, but you already know how that turned out."

"I've been in a few crashes," said Spitfire. "Nothing quite as bad as what you went through, though."

The two Pegasi shared a chuckle at that.

"You were finishing flying school just when I was starting," Rainbow said suddenly. "I've always loved flying; I literally can't remember a time when I didn't. And I've wanted to join the Wonderbolts ever since I learned what they were. But I never actually thought I could until they accepted you. When I realized that you and I went to the same flying school--that's when started thinking about the Wonderbolts as something that I actually do."

Spitfire nodded at that.

"I've imagined talking to you, too," Rainbow said. "Just general stuff. You know. What your school and training was like. Why you joined, what you do, advice for amateurs. Things like that. But no matter how many times I imagined it, the conversation never went... quite like this."

Spitfire nodded again. "Everypony thinks they know how their life is going to turn out until it actually happens. Did you know, I never planned on joining the Wonderbolts?"

Rainbow Dash gaped. "But you're their commander!"

"I know. Weird, right?" The smiling, yellow Pegasus replied. "I joined the Equestrian Flying Forces straight out of flying school. I didn't have any money; neither did my parents. And I certainly didn't have any plans for my life. Even my cutie mark doesn't say much about me."

With a wing, Spitfire indicated the flaming lightning bolt emblazoned on her flank. "I figured I'd do the one thing every Pegasus can do--fly--and just hope for the best. My commanding officer in the EFF told me I had talent--nopony had ever told me that before. When a spot on the Wonderbolts opened up, I thought, what the heck, I'll apply. So I auditioned, and I got in."

"You made it sound so easy," Rainbow complained sullenly.

"Yeah. I did, huh," Spitfire agreed. "Sorry about that. It was actually really difficult. But you already know how hard athletic training is, so I just skipped over that part. And really, that wasn't my point at all."

Rainbow folded her good foreleg over her chest and snorted derisively.

"I mean, let's talk about my cutie mark agan. A flaming lightning bolt. What does that mean, really?" Spitfire asked.

"It means you're an amazing flier," Rainbow Dash replied, without hesitation.

"Or it means I'm an arsonist." The Wonderbolt captain shrugged, drawing a surprised glance from Rainbow Dash. "Obviously, I'm not. But I could have been, if that's what I decided it meant."

Rainbow frowned in confusion.

"My point is, don't lock yourself into any one thing. Sometimes you can choose your own destiny, but sometimes you have to let it come to you. You've got tunnel vision, Rainbow; I've seen it in a lot of athletes, and I see it in you. You tell me you've wanted to join the Wonderbolts your whole life, but you don't know a thing about it.”

“I mean--" Spitfire waved a hoof, and then jabbed it at the floor.

"We're not just a stunt team. You know that, right?" The fiery-maned Pegasus continued. "We're a military organization. You think you know what that means, but I guarantee you do not. So I'll do you a favor and tell you. We do what we're told, we don't ask questions, and if Equestria should ever come under threat, Celestia forbid, we'll give up everypony else we care about to fly on front lines.

"Now, I don't know much about you, so if you tell me that's the life you want, I'll gladly direct you to the nearest EFF recruiting station. You don't have to be a Wonderbolt to do what we do. But from what your friends tell me, you're looking for something a little different out of life.

"Here's a question. What do you like to do best?"

"You're kidding, right?" Rainbow asked, after glaring for a few more moments at her childhood idol.

"Humor me."

"Fine." The blue Pegasus traced an arc in the air with her good hoof. "Flying fast. Doing stunts. Hanging out with my friends, helping them when they need help. Stuff like that."

"So. You like flying, you like helping ponies, and I'm guessing you like an audience. You like to show off a bit--be appreciated, know that other ponies know who you are. You want ponies to value you, and the work you do. Am I right?"

Rainbow snorted again. "I guess."

"I am right! Everypony wants to be valued." Spitfire insisted. "What I really want to know is, what's wrong with the life you have now?"

"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked suspiciously.

"I talked to Applejack. She says you're the best flier in the Ponyville area, if not all of Equestria. All the other ponies I've talked to agree. You're also the best pony on the Ponyville Weather Patrol, and the most loyal friend anypony could ask for. So I'll ask you again: What would the Wonderbolts have given you that you don't already have?"

Rainbow thought back to her empty cloud castle, which was decidedly lacking of a special somepony.

As if she could read Rainbow's mind, Spitfire said, "You've already got everything anypony could ask for, right here in Ponyville. All you have to do is go out and find it."

The military mare stood up. "I can't stay forever. But if you're going to remember one thing from my visit, let's make it this: don't think your life is over just because you can't join the Wonderbolts. You've got a lot of options in front of you, more than most ponies your age. And don't think your destiny is written on your flank, either. Be open. Sometimes you've got to go out and find it, but other times it comes right to you."

As Spitfire walked to the door, Rainbow pressed the envelope to her chest with her good leg. With her teeth, she gently ripped off the top with her teeth. Out tumbled not one, not two, but seven box-seat tickets for the Cloudsdale Coliseum Wonderbolts Open Audition.

"Spitfire?" Rainbow called out.

The mare paused by the door and glanced back at Rainbow Dash. "Yeah?"

"Thanks a lot for visiting me. And thanks for the tickets."

"Sure thing," grinned the yellow and orange Pegasus. "Take your friends. And most of all, have fun. You never know who you might meet."

***

Her cast was built to walk on, but it wasn't built to let her walk quickly, or for extended periods of time. Needless to say, Rainbow had trouble navigating the massive throng that mobbed the gates of the Cloudsdale Coliseum. Even worse, ponies continually jostled her injured wing, which ached more than she would ever admit to her stern-faced doctor. The rainbow-maned Pegasus sent a mental thank-you to the Princesses once she and her five friends finally broke free of the crush surrounding the admission booths.

"I'm telling you, Applejack, the spell is perfectly safe!" Twilight insisted, as the six friends continued on their way.

Applejack kicked at the white puffs beneath her hoovs. "If you say so. But I'm tellin' ya, Ah'll never feel comfortable walkin' on cloud-stuff. Ah don't know how these Pegasi do it."

"Maybe because we're born being able to do it?" Rainbow Dash couldn't resist throwing in. The six friends shared a laugh at that.

The stairs leading to the Coliseum's upper levels were also more difficult to climb than Rainbow would have liked to admit, and the blue Pegasus was wincing heavily by the time she and her friends claimed their airy seats. It was only midmorning, and her pain medicine was already starting to wear off. Rainbow distracted herself by gazing out the box's open windows, watching all the other ponies file into their seats below. The seats filled quickly; as they did, the roar of the jostling mob descended into a loud, yet amiable chatter.

A murmur swept the crowd as two Alicorns, flanked by a formation of armored Pegasi, passed over the Coliseum and landed on a reserved patch of cloud directly across from Rainbow and her friends' private box. The Royal Princesses, it seemed, were also in attendance.

The murmur settled momentarily, but quickly rekindled as a distant roar filled the air. The roar exploded into a thunderous boom as the Wonderbolts themselves flew over the stadium, trailing their trademark, spark-filled contrails.

The ponies in audience stamped their hooves madly, and Rainbow's eyes filled with childlike wonder as the Wonderbolts circled the stadium three times. The ace flying team landed on the judges' cloud, and Soarin's magically amplified voice boomed through the air.

"Welcome, welcome, to the Twenty-First Cloudsdale Coliseum Open Audition! Today, eight talented Peagsi will compete for the honor of being accepted directly into Equestria's finest flying organization, the Wonderbolts! Please, everypony, give them your hooves!"

A curtain at the far end of the stadium, opposite the judges' cloud, suddenly drew back. From behind a series of elegant arches, eight fliers surged into the air and began their own circuit of the Coliseum. One Pegasus stallion led the pack--his coat was a deep, almost charred red, and small yellow flames licked the edges of his smoky contrail.

Rainbow Dash gasped, remembering her dream. "Guys! Fireline's actually auditioning!"

"Whaddaya mean, 'actually'?" Applejack asked.

"I just..." Rainbow tried to think of the best way to explain, then gave up. "I haven't talked to him since flying school, that's all."

Applejack gaped at her friend. "Y'all are tellin' me you went to flyin' school with a stallion like that? And ya just stopped talkin' to him?"

"We weren't friends or anything!" Rainbow Dash protested defensively, remembering the few, brief times she'd encountered the Pegasus colt with the flaming-cross-hair cutie mark. "I just knew him. Besides, he wasn't even handsome back then."

"Well, it would seem that time has changed some Pegasi for the better," Rarity interjected. "I must agree with Applejack. As your personal friend, I urge you to reestablish contact with this stallion."

Behind her, Spike opened his mouth and made a gagging motion, only to flush with embarrassment as Rarity sent one of her heavy-lidded gazes in his direction.

Soarin's voice boomed once again through the stadium. "I'd also like to extend a special welcome to our two guests of honor, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia!"

The two Alicorns opened their wings in recognition of their subjects as a fresh wave of cheering and hoof-stomping commenced. Rainbow Dash stared pensively at the royal sisters, remembering her recent crash and subsequent experience.

Luna gazed directly into Rainbow’s eyes, and winked.

Rainbow's jaw dropped open, but Luna had already turned her attention to the rest of the cheering crowd.

"Well, ain't that a thing," Applejack guffawed, nudging Twilight in the ribs. "Somepony must've told the Princesses you were here."

***

Rainbow Dash held her violet eyes wide open for the entire competition. More than once she found herself flapping involuntarily, as the contestants performed particularly dazzling stunts, or dizzying, stomach-lurching acrobatics. More than once she heard Spike whisper, Twilight giggle, and felt Fluttershy gently push her wing back to her side with a murmured, "Careful. You'll hurt yourself."

Her fidgeting was obviously bothering her friends, but Rainbow Dash didn't care. The audition was entrancing, mesmerizing.

All of the contestants were more talented than she could have imagined. Some, including Fireline, were possibly more talented than she. They were certainly more disciplined. Rainbow remembered what Spitfire had said about military ponies taking orders. On her own, Rainbow could pull off all the same tricks the contestants could do. But could she perform them in perfect synchronization with a partner she was directly competing against, as the Wonderbolts asked these contestants to do?

Never, she knew. Rainbow Dash was simply too proud for that.

All too soon, the competing Pegasi returned to their starting positions. The Wonderbolts shuffled their papers and conferred amongst themselves, totaling the many scores they'd recorded over the hours of audition.

As the judges talked in hushed voices, some of the contestants across the stadium nodded and touched hooves. They were congratulating each other in advance, Rainbow realized. They’d accepted the fact that only one of them could make the cut. No matter which contestant won, there would be no hard feelings among any of them--only mutual respect.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Soarin' announced, and the Coliseum fell into a hush. "After much deliberation, the panel is pleased to announce the winner of today's competition, and Equestria's newest Wonderbolt... FIRELINE!!!"

The stadium exploded into an deafening uproar. Ponies cheered, stomped, and bucked. More than a few bits changed hooves. Applejack whooped, and leaned close to Rainbow Dash to shout directly into her ear. "Hear that, girl? Yer old flyin' school buddy's a Wonderbolt now!"

Fireline himself stumbled backwards; the other contestants caught him and nudged him forwards. After taking a moment to regain his composure, the Pegasus stallion spread his crimson wings and flew gracefully to the judges' cloud for the ceremonial acceptance of his new Wonderbolts uniform. He donned the blue-and-yellow outfit, and the crowd roared again as he began a victory lap around the Coliseum, with the six judges accompanying him.

A knot of sadness formed in Rainbow's stomach as she watched Fireline touch down on the Coliseum's central runway. Today had been her last chance to join the Wonderbolts, and now it was gone--that chance had gone to Fireline, and he'd seized it in both hooves. Logically, Rainbow knew that any chance she'd had of joining the Wonderbolts had disappeared the day she broke her leg, but today, that loss was real. Rainbow Dash's lifelong dream had officially ended the moment Fireline accepted his new uniform.

"Now's yer chance," a thick voice murmured in Rainbow's ear.

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, spinning--with her broken leg, it was more of a shuffle--away from the window.

"Good gravy, girl, do ya even listen anymore?" asked the orange mare. "Ah said, now's yer chance to go make nice with Fireline!"

"Make nice with Fireline?" Rainbow turned back to the chaotic scene outside. "Look at all those fans! There's no way I can even get close to him."

"So ya want to, then," Applejack said slyly. "Ya just admitted it."

"Well..." Rainbow let her voice trail away. Admittedly, the gray and crimson stallion had grown quite handsome in the years that had passed since flying school.

"He'll be here for a while. Takin' questions, ya know. That sorta thing."

Rarity stepped up to Rainbow's side, her elegant purple curls bouncing in the wind. "Applejack is right. You need to move forward, Rainbow Dash. There is nothing wrong and everything right with this Pegasus, and you'll never get a better opportunity to speak with him than today."

Rainbow met the earnest gazes of her friends, and tried to smile. "I appreciate your concern for my love life. But Fireline and I barely knew each other in flying school." She turned her gaze back to the crowd of ponies below. "I doubt he even remembers me."

Applejack and Rarity frowned at each other, turning to Twilight for help.

The purple Unicorn spoke up. "You know, you could be right."

"Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed sharply. "That isn't nice at all!"

The purple mare winked at Rarity before pressing on. "Fireline could have forgotten all about you. But you won't know for sure unless you talk to him."

***

"Stupid--ow--Twilight--ow," Rainbow muttered to herself as she shuffled through the crowd, pushing her way towards the velvet ropes that separated Fireline from his many new fans. "I'm never--ow--listening to her again."

Truth be told, Rainbow Dash had no idea what she was going to say to the stallion. The last time she'd asked a colt out had been in flying school, and that hadn't ended well at all. Since then, she'd devoted most of her time to flying--either clearing Ponyville's skies or practicing for the Wonderbolts--and spent the rest of her time visiting her five best friends. Her legs trembled, and her stomach filled with a feeling of queasy stage-fright.

Ponies moved chaotically around her, and Rainbow Dash momentarily lost herself in the crowd. The mob parted ahead of her, and suddenly, she’d reached the velvet barrier. Fireline was only a few feet away, touching hooves with the many cheering fans that pressed towards him. How had she gotten so close, so quickly? Rainbow had no idea. She drew in a breath and tried to shout his name, but her voice came out as a squeak.

Rainbow tried again, sucking in a deeper breath this time. "Fireline. Fireline! Over here!"

Fireline's eyes, those shiny, scarlet orbs that so perfectly matched the thin, red streak in his charcoal-gray tail, traveled over and past her.

She had been right after all, Rainbow realized as she watched the stallion move comfortably through the throng. Fireline was only a dream, just like joining the Wonderbolts had been. Rainbow Dash wanted to sink into the clouds and vanish. She hung her head and tried to back away, but the crush of adoring ponies would not allow her to move.

"Rainbow Dash!"

The beaten, blue Pegasus raised her head to meet yet another pair of shiny, red eyes. No, she realized suddenly. These were not just another pair of eyes. These were Fireline's eyes, and they were staring directly at her. As Rainbow Dash watched, Fireline's muzzle opened into a genuine smile.

"I thought that was you!" The stallion's voice was deep, but not unkind. "It's such a relief to find someone familiar!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth as Fireline waited for her response. You'll never get a better opportunity, she heard Rarity saying.

"You mean you haven't forgotten about me?" Rainbow blurted.

This earned a chuckle from Fireline. "I could never forget a mane like yours."

Rainbow Dash wasn't sure whether to feel flattered or offended.

The red Pegasus' smile suddenly vanished, replaced by a concerned frown. "What happened to your leg?"

A Unicorn with a pen-and-quill cutie mark levitated a microphone towards him. "Fireline! A few words for the Cloudsdale Courier, if you will."

Still frowning at Rainbow's cast, Fireline absently swatted the device away with a gray-and-crimson wing.

Stunned and amazed, Rainbow Dash realized that her initial assumption about Fireline had been entirely wrong. Fireline wasn't absorbed by his newfound popularity--he was ignoring it. The new Wonderbolt only seemed comfortable in this crowd of adoring fans because he was pretending that the crowd wasn't there. He'd found the one pony among the thousands present that he actually wanted to talk to, and right now, his attention was entirely focused on her.

Rainbow blushed hotly. "I, um... had a small flying accident."

"Small?" the Pegasus stallion whinnied, tossing his mane in protest.

"It's a long story," Rainbow assured him.

"I'd still like to hear it," Fireline said, batting the microphone away again. "Do you realize, we haven't talked since flying school?"

The stallion fluttered in surprise as Spitfire suddenly touched down beside him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry to break this up, but we're out of time. We've got a photo op at eighteen hundred, dinner with the Princesses from nineteen-fifty to twenty-two-hundred, and your official swearing-in at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow morning."

Seeing Rainbow Dash, the orange-maned Pegasus smiled and nodded. "Hey, Rainbow. Glad you could make it."

"Haystacks," Fireline cursed. "Rainbow, I am very glad that we ran into each other. In fact, this may have been the best thing that happened to me all day."

"Come on," Spitfire poked Fireline in the ribs. "Goggles on, that's it. You're a professional now."

Spitfire took her place on Fireline's right, with Soarin' on his left. The four remaining Wonderbolts lined up behind them, with Fireline, as the newest Wodnerbolt, forming the tip of the V.

Soarin' spoke up. "And we're flying in three, two, one--"

"The Cumulonimbus!" Fireline shouted to Rainbow Dash. "We're staying at the Cumulonimbus Hotel!"

"Zero." As one, the ace flying team leaped into the air, arcing towards the opulent arches and spires of Cloudsdale proper.

"The Cumulonimbus," Rainbow Dash whispered to herself.

It was the largest, the most magnificent, and easily the most expensive hotel in Cloudsdale, located at the ancient city's cultural heart. There was no guarantee they would have any vacancies, and the chariot ride alone would cost half a wing. But if it meant she could see Fireline again, before he shipped out to wherever the Princesses decided to send him...

The crowd of spectators thinned around her, and Rainbow watched as the silhouettes of the flying Pegasi faded to tiny specks.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, as she trotted up to her friend. "We're catching the balloon back to Ponyville now. Did you get a chance to catch up with Fireline?"

Rainbow smiled as she met the eager eyes of her five friends.

"You guys go ahead," she said, touching Twilight gently with her one good wing. "I'm staying one more night."

***