Twilight sighed, her head thudding against the desk. "Why does this have to be so hard?" she muttered.
"Maybe it's that you're writing this at 4 in the morning?" Spike suggested, pointing a spoonful of ice cream at the clock before jamming it into his mouth and scooping more from the container he held.
"No, no, I've been trying to write this book for years!" Twilight moaned, head still against the desk. "Spike, bring me a book! Any book! I'm going to finish this if it kills me!" her head lifted from the desk where a paper lay. The smudged ink rendered it unreadable.
"Twilight?" a voice called out by the door. "We're getting worried about you."
"Busy! Later!" Twilight replied, not even bothering to get up. "Ask Spike if you need something!"
Twilight's reply sounded rehearsed, like she hadn't even heard who called. Rarity looked suspiciously at the door, running a magic scan that Twilight had showed her once. It showed several layers of spellwork on the door, complete with a sound barrier and an automated response. If it detected any sound, it would replay a segment of sound Twilight had input. Which was, in this case, telling them to come back later. Rarity sighed again. It had been several days since anypony had seen or heard from Twilight. Not even Spike knew where she was!
"That's enough, Twi. We're coming in!" Applejack said to the door, which responded with the automated message that everypony had gotten tired of.
"Busy! Later! Ask Spike if you need something!"
One buck later, the splintered fragments of wood that used to be a door lay inside Twilight's now deserted and book-less library. A note sat on the table in the center. Applejack was followed by Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash as they surrounded the table. Rarity lit her horn, and Rainbow Dash read the note out loud.
"I've gone to accomplish my dream: Write a book, and get that book published. I'm far away, where I can't be distracted by anything. I'll be back soon. Twilight Sparkle."
The five friends exchanged glances before immediately heading off to find Twilight, wherever she was. A few moments later, the paper lazily floated to the floor. The sound of hooves running and wings flying died away, and the library lay deserted once again.
Ten years later, a pony in a woven vine cloak walked through Ponyville, a book in her hooves and a grin on her face. The hood she wore covered her upper face, leaving her mouth exposed. She trotted through town, marveling at the changes it had gone through while she was away. Soon she arrived at her destination: the Publisher's Office. She slipped the book to the stallion at the desk, before walking away. The stallion glanced glanced down at the book, wondering who the author was. Below the title, lay a name. Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight walked through the now bustling town, to where her library was. It still stood, but only just. She stared for a moment, frowning, before lighting up her horn and casting a few spells. Magic straightened the sign on the side, repaired the door, and flipped the 'Closed' sign to 'Open'. Once inside, she wiped the dust off the furniture and began teleporting the books she had brought with her back to their rightful places. She walked upstairs and lay on her bed, closing her eyes and smiling. It had been years since she had slept on anything so soft, and without even meaning to she quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.
"She's back." a pony in a well-tailored suit told her boss.
"What? Who's back?" Applejack asked her secretary.
"Twilight Sparkle." the mare replied.
Applejack's face twisted with various conflicting emotions. "I'm going to give that mare a piece of my mind. Handle all my appointments, will you?"
"What reason should I give for your absence?"
"Tell them it's family business. Long-lost family." Applejack sighed. "It's true enough."
Twilight was awoke falling off her bed. "Woah! Who's there?" she asked as her eyes snapped open and horn flared, creating a shield around herself and readying an offensive spell before she saw who it was. "Oh, it's you. Apple... jack, right?"
Applejack frowned. "Yes, it is. Where did you even go ten years ago? Why?"
"I thought my note explained it. Didn't it?" Twilight asked. She didn't remember exactly what it said.
"It said that you were going someplace you wouldn't be bothered, so you could write a book."
"That's what I did."
"WHERE?"
"The Everfree."
"WE SPENT THREE YEARS LOOKING FOR YOU!" a tear trickled down Applejack's face. "All of us. Your friends. Spike. Three years. Why did you abandon us?"
"My dream. It always meant everything to me."
"During the whole ten years, did it ever ONCE occur to you that we might want you back? That we missed you?"
"I figured we'd catch up when I got back." Twilight stared uncomprehendingly at Applejack. Why was she so upset? Had something happened?
"You're acting like you were gone for a week or something! You've been gone for years! Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo got their Cutie Marks and moved out while you were gone. Granny Smith died. Shining Armor and Cadence had foals. Did you know that PRINCESS CELESTIA sent a whole company of Royal Guards to find you?"
Twilight stopped for a moment as she really thought about how long she was gone. "It was really ten years ago?" she whispered.
Applejack calmed slightly. "Yes. It has been ten years of us not knowing if you were even still alive. We still believed you would come back after the first, we hoped until the third." she began to cry. "After that, we accepted that you were gone forever."
"I'm so sorry." Twilght's voice came in a rush. "I didn't think it was that long. My calendar was eaten by some Timberwolves before even a month had passed. Time just passed so quickly while I was writing!" Twilight pulled Applejack into a hug, sobbing as well. "I told myself I'd come back in a few months, say hi, take a break. I lost track of time..."
A knock was heard on the door. Twilight and Applejack headed down, checking to see who it was. Derpy hoofed Twilight a letter. Twilight read it, then dropped it, smiling with glee and bouncing about like Pinkie Pie. "I made it! My book was published! My dream completed!"
"But was is worth it?" Applejack asked softly. "Leaving everything behind? Leaving your friends behind?"
Twilight stopped, looked deeply into her heart, and found a simple truth.
No, it wasn't.
Author's Note
Each of the six chapters will be on one of the Mane 6.
Rainbow Dash had been thinking. Ever since Twilight left to complete her dream, she had been considering chasing her own wish she had since she was a filly: she wanted to be a Wonderbolt. No matter what it took. She glanced up at the poster of Spitfire hanging above her bed, and decided to follow Twilight's example. With a quick push of her wings, she quickly shot off to the local track.
Rainbow Dash let out a few gasps before returning to flying laps. Training this hard left little time for anything else. Her speed had improved over the last month, but not a much as it could have been if so many ponies didn't interrupt her! She was beginning to understand why Twilight decided to leave to find a better writing environment. With a smirk, Rainbow realized where she should go: Cloudsdale. Nopony knew her well enough to bother her there, and no pony would be surprised to see her training so hard. She quickly wrote letters to her friends, telling them where they could find her if they really needed to. One Sonic Rainboom later, she was closing in on Cloudsdale. Nothing could slow her training now.
"Are you okay?" Applejack asked as she trotted along to clouds to where she saw Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow replied, not stopping her stretching. "Why? What's up?
"You haven't returned any of our letters." Applejack stated, slightly angrily. "All of your friends have been trying to contact you for a whole year now."
"You haven't come to me personally about it until just now. Why?" Rainbow replied.
"Because we hadn't found a pony who knows the cloudwalking spell until yesterday!" Applejack retorted. "Fluttershy couldn't come and we couldn't use a balloon because of new laws that have been passed!"
"Well... Maybe you should have tried harder!" Rainbow shot back. "Now excuse me, I need to get back to my practice! I came here so I could work without being interrupted!"
Applejack tried to pull Rainbow's tail with her mouth as she flew overhead, but was too late. She was already in the sky.
Two years later, Rainbow grinned as she entered her application for the Wonderbolts. There was no way she could be rejected! She was the best single flyer in all of Equestria! A few minutes later, the rejection was handed back to her. Rainbow gaped in astonishment. How?
"You may be the best single flyer, but you need to learn to work with a team." Spitfire commented as she left the office. "Do that, and we'll let you in."
Rainbow left with a determined grin on her face. A team? She'd spent three years on this endeavor, she wasn't about to be stopped by a silly little thing like needing a team. She resolved to find the best, fastest ponies in Equestria, and learn to work with them in a team. Led by her, of course. With Rainbow Dash as their leader, they would become the best flying team in Equestria! No, the whole world!
A whole year had passed, when Rainbow Dash resubmitted her application for the Wonderbolts, alongside Lightning Dust and Cloud Chaser. They sat nervously, waiting for the big news. Were they accepted? Each one was not only thinking about their own acceptance, but each others. Over the year, the three had learned to work together perfectly, instinctively knowing what each other was thinking through months of constant work and practice. Rainbow Dash no longer cared as much that she was the leader and they were wingponies, but more that they were a team.
"You've learned a lot," Spitfire smiled at them. "All of you have come a long way. Rainbow, you were once the most prideful pony in Equestria. Lightning Dust, you were the least responsible. It is my pleasure to welcome you three to the Wonderbolts Rainbow Dash, Lighting Dust and Cloud Chaser, it would be a shame to separate you after all of this, you may keep your team. In addition, I would like to announce that me, Fleetfoot, and Soarin are retiring today. The Wonderbolts are yours, Rainbow Dash."
"Aww, yeah!" Rainbow declared as she hoofbumped with her partners. "We're Wonderbolts!"
Rainbow flew into Ponyville with her wingponies, ready to show off to her old friends. Rarity was the first pony she encountered.
"Hey, Rares!" she exclaimed as she approached.
Rarity's mouth dropped in astonishment. "Rainbow Dash? Where have you been for these past years?"
"I'm a Wonderbolt now!" Rainbow announced pridefully.
"Good for you." Rarity replied unenthusiastically.
Rainbow didn't notice her lack of interest in achievement. "I'm now officially the fastest flyer in Equestria, and my team is the best in the whole world!"
"Was it worth it?" Rarity asked softly. Rainbow took note this time.
"What?"
"Was it worth it, to leave your friends behind? To lose everypony you knew for your dream, to ignore life? I no longer know you."
"You still know who I am!"
"I know who you are, but not who you are. I know who you were. Years have passed, and I've changed. You've changed. Back when we were the inseparable Elements, do you think you would have bothered mentioning your wingponies when impressing me?"
"Well... No..." Rainbow shuffled her hooves, looking down. "I probably would have just told you how great i was, without mentioning my wingponies.
"So, ultimately, was your dream worth it? Losing us? Losing your old life?"
Rainbow thought about it, a frown coming across her face as she reviewed her life. After a few minutes, she finally came to a conclusion.
No, it wasn't.
Author's Note
I think I've done better than this chapter, but I've also done worse.
