Overshadowing the Rainbowby EruantalonChaptersPurple streak dashing through the airRainbow blaze grounded at twilightThe pink and rainbow light of dawnPurple streak dashing through the airRainbow dashed through the air, splitting it apart like an arrow. Through the whipping wind, she could almost feel the color barrier pushing against her mane as she cut through the cloud, spun around, and shot a smug glance back... only to see Twilight less than a furlong behind. The new princess's whole barrel was puffing, and she looked relieved as she slowed, but all the same, she was too close! "Wow!" Dash exclaimed. "Nobody's ever come that close in the thirty-mile dash!" "Thirty-mile Dash..." Twilight puffed, swooping down to land on another cloud slightly below them. Dash tucked in her wings and swooped down to join her. "And... you seem... ready for thirty more." "Ha ha!" Dash put a broad smile on her face as she looked at Twilight more closely than she'd done since... she didn't remember when. Her friend had definitely grown. Her neck stretched higher, her wings and back were set in a more graceful curve, but there was something more about her that Dash couldn't place. Maybe it was just egghead stuff, or Princess stuff, but it felt important for some reason. "Wow, how you've grown," she said. Twilight glanced down at herself. "I suppose so. Spike's been complaining how high he needs to jump to get onto my back these days." "Well, just tell him he's still the first person to ride a Princess since... whenever!" "Since I was five," Twilight chuckled. Dash jumped back almost off the cloud. "You rode Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped. "Oh no no no! I'd never dare do that! But Cadance was so - so close! And," she added with a laugh, "I was just a filly. But even then, I could see she was growing... sort of like I'm growing now, though she was already a Princess." "Oh?" Dash settled down to listen to her newly-alicornified friend. "Princess Celestia told me I'm growing into my alicorn stature. It'll take about thirty years, and even then I'll never achieve quite the size of her or of Princess Luna unless I associate myself with another spring of magic like theirs -" "Woah, woah!" Dash held up her forelimbs. "No lecture on magic! Just, I guess, you were born as an alicorn, and now you're growing up as an alicorn?" "Um, that analogy completely neglects the nature of the magic involved, and the infusions of aetherical -" "But it's basically right?" "Um, yes. I guess." She added in a mumble, "All the books use it, anyway..." "But... what's this really going to mean?" Dash pawed at the cloud. "I mean, are you gonna keep getting faster and faster..." Twilight fluttered her wings thoughtfully. "... how fast is Princess Celestia, anyway?" "... oh! If you're really looking into alicorn speed, you'd want to look atLuna. Princess Celestia hasn't done any real flying since the last Griffin Wars, and that was more for show than anything else." Dash looked down. They'd been racing along the edge of the Everfree Forest; it still beckoned off to their right. There was a little village ahead, with a few farmponies out in the fields under Celestia's sun... and a small group of ponies coming out of the forest right beneath them. Dash couldn't tell what they'd been doing there - they were too far away to make out any signs of saddlebags - but they milled around each other slowly as if they'd found something uncomfortable. "You wanna swoop down and see what's going on?" Twilight looked down, extended her wings, and shook her head. "No; I think I can fly back to Ponyville if we take it slow." Dash cocked her head. "You sure?" Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment but then grinned. "Give me a moment to drink... I saw a stream by that village." Dash nodded. But as they slowly flew down, two pegasi from the forest party flew up to meet them. "Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!" the lead pony cried pleadingly. Twilight tried to straighten out her mane, but it only rumpled again. "Um... yes?" "Princess Twilight!" The pegasi both tucked their wings into the traditional flying-bow. "What a surprise to have Your Serene Highness visiting - are you here for any particular concern?" "We're out flying," Dash interrupted. "Oh!" The second Pegasus perked up. "I've never have the privilege of seeing a princess fly before! Might we have the honor -" Her companion silenced her with a quick glare. "Pray pardon Cloudy Wings. But..." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Twilight said, "Of course. Were you trying to say something?" "Um, I don't mean to presume, but since Your Highness happens to be here..." "Just get on with it!" Dash interrupted. "What Spiral Hooves's saying," Cloudy Wings burst out, "is that we found some big aura of magic in the Everfree, and none of us know what it is, and we'd like it if you came to take a look!" "Yes!" Spiral Hooves said. "I mean, if Your Highness would rather we talk to the mayor first -" "No need," Twilight said with a smile. "I'd be glad to help!" Both ponies sighed with relief. "Um, just how far into the Everfree is this?" Dash asked. Spiral Hooves looked uncomfortable, and Cloudy Wings said uncertainly, "A few miles?" "Oh." Dash frowned. "I don't think I can come then - there's a storm gathering on our end of the Everfree, and we need to clear the skies in advance of it." "Do you think they're linked, Princess?" Spiral Hooves suggested. Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash; Dash immediately shook her head. "Nah. The storm's just ordinary wild weather." "Well then," Twilight said, "I'm sorry we can't fly back together. But this could be important - I mean, the last wild magic we found here stole away the Princesses!" Spiral Hooves and Cloudy Wings both shivered. Rainbow Dash shrugged ostentatiously. "I'll be getting back, then. See you... tomorrow morning?" Rainbow Dash flew into Ponyville at her normal cruising speed, turned a figure-eight over the town square, and peeled off to the weather patrol offices. A few straggling weatherponies followed on her tail. "All right, everypony!" she announced to the large herd of pegasi in the meadow outside the patrol offices. With all hooves on duty, they could hardly fit inside. "We've got a wild thunderstorm brewing in the Everfree Forest! Since we can't get to it in there, we need to keep any of the clouds here from fueling it. So, time to clear the skies all over the township! Any questions?" A hoof was raised in the back. "Yes, Blossomforth?" "Can't you clear the skies by yourself?" Rainbow Dash winced. "Over the town, yes. But we need to get the whole area clear! And I'm giving you all a chance to prove your worth! So, get to it!" Dash hung back as the weather patrol flew away. She felt she was missing something. She didn't know what to do with that feeling - it wasn't quite like when she was choosing between the two teams for the Games, or when she'd almost traded Fluttershy away; that felt bad, but she knew what to do about it. Look for which friends she was forgetting, and do something about that. But this was a different something she was missing now, and it still felt bad. She flexed her wings, wondering if she should fly up, call the team back, and try to clear the skies by herself. No - she wasn't sure she could do the whole area, and definitely not after racing Twilight earlier. But should she? Making her decision quickly, she dashed up to the slowest team of pegasi. "Hey, Bluebell, I'm coming with you!" "A little more oomph in that kick, Bluebell!" "Over there, Blossomforth - we're not trying to arrange them; we're getting rid of them!" "No need to make them rain, Bon Voyage; we need to get them all out of here tonight!" Finally, as afternoon turned into evening, the skies were all clear as far as Dash could see. After dismissing the weather team with praise for their good work, she glided slowly back into town. Another job had been well done, and she'd been there bustling around ever part of it... but it still felt like she was missing something. Maybe a good Daring Do book would help? That's what Twilight would recommend, she thought. But that idea just made her somehow feel even more uncomfortable. "WATCH OUT!" Dash swerved just in time to avoid crashing into the newspaper stand. "Thanks, Rarity," she said, extending a hoof down to the unicorn who was quickly stuffing a glossy magazine into her saddlebags. The other ponies in the market square glanced at them for a moment before deciding it was just another near-crash by Dash. "Oh, think nothing of it, Rainbow. I was just finishing up my shopping and about to head home for supper; would you like to walk with me back to the Boutique?" "Sure!" she said brightly. Rainbow Dash wafted through the air above Rarity as she started talking about some dresses she was pressing on Twilight for some event at the Crystal Empire. "Fortunately, Spike's been ever so helpful. I don't know what I'd have done without him - Twilight's much too busy to come stand for measurements every week, and I can't be confident in any of her old numbers now that she's growing into her alicornity. That new neck of hers needs something to show it off properly. I can understand now why the Princesses -" "Huh? Alicornity?" Dash interrupted a little late. "Why, of course!" Rarity stepped to one side to look at the pegasus without craning her neck. "Haven't you noticed? It's the most marvelous thing!" "Ah, that." "You look... downcast." Dash shrugged, flying a loop around Rarity. Rarity paused for a moment before continuing. "... and Spike's going along, and he could wear his darling old tuxedo, but - don't you tell him - I'm planning to make him a new suit as thanks. I was thinking about white, with the snow in the Crystal Empire and all. And it would match the glimmer on his scales. But don't you think blue would go better with Twilight's coat, at least?" "Huh? Oh? Whatever you think." Rarity paused a moment, looking ahead at her Boutique, now just down the street. "Perhaps both. Blue suit set with white diamonds. Why, just last week Photo Finish was showing a simply marvelous outfit in all the magazines..." It was another minute before Dash thought to ask, "Hey, by the way, talking about magazines - what was that magazine you were getting?" "Oh!" Rarity's hoof went to her mouth as she glanced around with an affected laugh. "That - that thing? It's just a little something I picked up out of mere curiosity -" "Come on..." Dash pressed. "Oh, if you insist... come on inside." A little suspicious now, Dash entered. The room was strewn with the usual frou-frou accessories, but one space on the table was clear between a half-stitched seam and some gems. Rarity reluctantly set the magazine down there. In large glossy letters, between pictures of... were those strands from Fluttershy's and Rarity's manes?... it promised: The Elements of Harmony: Who's the Prettiest? Dash burst out in laughter. "Please understand, Rainbow Dash, I'm not taking this seriously," Rarity said. "I just want to..." (she gestured in the air) "keep my ears up for what people are thinking of us." "Okay, okay," Dash guffawed. "Go ahead - who do they say's the most frou-frou of us all? You?" "Well, I did win the title last summer..." "You mean this's a regular thing?" Rarity nodded. "Twice a year, ever since Luna's Return! And laugh as much as you want, Rainbow Dash, but some ponies take this seriously!" She tossed her well-groomed mane. "Okay, okay, who won this time?" "I had not yet taken a look..." Dash flipped the magazine open to a two-page spread of some strange mare wearing a tail-bow. She backed off in shock. "You find it." Rarity daintily flipped several more pages to a spread of their six faces, surrounding a box of text. "Here's the article. And then..." She turned one more page, to a closeup of Twilight. "Twilight won!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief. Rarity nodded, skimming the article. "A novel upset, they say... Homely girl does good... Continues her regal triumph... And many less, ahem, presentable words." Dash narrowed her eyes. "What're they saying about us? They aren't just trying to buck around, are they?" Rarity shook her head, sending her mane flying. "Neigh! I would never read that sort of magazine!" She held her shocked expression for a moment before leaning back over the magazine. "Twilight really has stretched her muzzle quite well, though I think they take it a little too far... And her barrel has filled out admirably..." Dash made a face. This was starting to get even more uncomfortable than before. "Now they say her mane preserves her friendly demeanor, but I think if only she -" "What do they mean by that?" Dash groaned. "Well, they don't put it quite that way..." "What do they say?" "They say - I quote - 'keeps her just as much the hometown girl you've all loved.'" Dash burst out laughing again. Rainbow blaze grounded at twilight"Dragon! Flood! Fire! Griffins! Horror!" Rainbow Dash and Rarity both jumped up at the screams from outside. Dash threw the door open; a crowd of ponies was galloping toward the marketplace. "What's up?" she demanded. "Flood! Fire!" Daisy neighed. "Fly -" "Hey, if there's a flood, there can't be a fire!" "The Princess -" "Princess Celestia!?" Rarity gasped. Daisy galloped off; Lily neighed "Princess Twilight!" before following. Dash narrowed her eyes at the near-stampede in the street, and then glanced back at Rarity. The next moment, they were flying and galloping for Twilight. Trouble was brewing. The marketplace, to Dash's relief, was much calmer than the streets. Twilight was standing on the back of Applejack's wagon, looking like she'd just touched down. She wasn't frazzled, and only mildly frantic. Dash sighed with relief; there was no disaster. Then she glanced over the crowd; they were far too frightened to have noticed. "Everypony!" Twilight exclaimed, raising her wings. "Calm down!" Lily shrieked; the crowd started shifting their hooves on the edge of stampede. Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Nothing's happening! I mean, there's no disaster; a few things might go bad, but -" "DRAGON!" Daisy yelled, turning to bolt. Applejack, standing next to the wagon, shook her head sadly. Twilight suddenly lit up her horn. Her mane jumped up, flowing out in an aurora. Daisy was seized in purple magic and dragged back into place. "EVERYPONY!" Twilight exclaimed in something really close to the Royal Canterlot Voice. "There's no need to panic!" Before she could even think about it, Dash instinctively gave a flying-bow. Below her, the rest of the crowd was kneeling. Dash hadn't even thought before her body was bowing; it was almost like... that time Princess Celestia had appeared in all her radiance to end the Smarty Pants Disaster. Maybe it was something about alicorns? "Now," Twilight continued, her hair back in place and her voice normal, "As I was saying before you all interrupted me -" Daisy cringed; no one else moved. Everyone was still on their knees. "I was just on the other side of the Everfree, and I saw some latent magic that was triggered by something. I'm not sure what; it might have been Nightmare Moon, but there was a large ancient signature of chaos that makes me think it might have been the plunder vines -" Applejack loudly cleared her throat. "Anyway," Twilight continued, "we've got some rogue magic. Fortunately, it'll blow itself out in a day or two, but in the meantime, no matter how many tame clouds we've cleared, we will be getting a very strong wild thunderstorm." Dash's heart sank. She flexed her wings, but something still held her in place. It was Pinkie Pie who jumped up, producing two large cymbals from her mane. "Let's all get ready, then!" She clapped them together like thunder. Everypony around her flinched, and a few of them jumped up from kneeling. "Uh, right, Pinkie. Sorry, everypony." Twilight shifted, looking a little embarrassed. "But, we still do need to storm-proof the whole town this evening! Now, Applejack and Carrot Top, can you tie down everything in the market; Fluttershy, can you make sure the animals' burrows are ready for rain; Silver Spanner, can you double-check the dam..." Dash raced forward to Twilight. "Hey, Twi!" "Uh -" Twilight sidestepped, but Dash brought herself to a quick stop right in front of her, wings outstretched. "Um, Rainbow Dash? Uh, could you -" "Hey!" Dash paused a moment, not sure what to say, and seized the first words that came to mind. "Organizing the weather's my job!" Twilight glanced from Dash to the crowd. (Dash didn't bother looking.) "Well, Rainbow, I only just noticed the wild storm -" "Silver Spanner!" Dash snapped. She looked at the crowd, only then noticing they were looking at her and Twilight with worry. "Um... yes. You take the, um, check the drainage in the south meadow. Blue October, you take the dam." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts, which were scattered every which way like wild clouds. "Hey, what're you waiting for?" "Um..." Silver Spanner crept forward, wings furled. "Princess Twi -" Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, Twilight gestured dismissal. Dash glared at her. Silver Spanner galloped off. Twilight gestured for Dash to continue. Dash swallowed, suddenly feeling as if something had gone even worse. "Blossomforth, riverbanks downstream. And Bluebell," she quickly added, suddenly unsure just how much work the banks needed, even though she should know it like the feathers in her wings. "Candyfloss, upstream riverbanks..." As Dash was looking through the crowd, she thought she saw Pinkie Pie shaking her head slowly. But when she looked back, Pinkie had vanished. Uncertainly, Dash continued listing off all the jobs she thought she remembered, and then (sure she'd forgotten something) finished, "All right, everypony, to work!" Twilight might have given a nod then, but Dash only saw it out of the corner of her eye - with that final word, Dash rocketed homeward like a thunderbolt. She felt sure something there had gone very wrong. Should they have just hunkered down for the storm? No, they needed to prepare for it. And it really was her job. But still... she wished she could have said something better to Twilight, wished it could have gone better. But she didn't know how. The wild thunderstorm hit in the middle of the night. Rainbow Dash's cloud house lit up with lightening as it was tossed back and forth in the wind and rain. But in the middle of it all, the pegasus - as weather-proof as all her kind - rolled over with just a small grumble. All that cloud work yesterday, and nothing to show for it. It wasn't the storm; she'd ridden out plenty of regularly-scheduled rainy nights in her cloud. But something kept her awake for several hours before the thunder finally soothed her back to sleep. The pink and rainbow light of dawnRain was still rumbling down all around Dash's cloud the next morning like a million tiny galloping hooves. Dash rolled out of bed, bounced up when her cloud bucked in the wind, and flew over to her pantry for breakfast. She quickly discovered that most of her food had been knocked to the floor in the night; half of it had come un-enchanted and fallen to the ground below, and she didn't feel like cleaning up and eating the other half. With a shrug, she decided to fly down for breakfast at Sugarcube Corner. The rain-swept streets were deserted except for a few pegasi. Derpy was making her only-somewhat-late mail rounds; Blossomforth was flying out to the train station (Dash remembered she was scheduled to go on leave today); Thunderlane was poking his hooves into the muddy streets and frowning. With only a few "hello"'s, Rainbow Dash ducked into a brightly-lit but almost-deserted Sugarcube Corner. "Hey, Pinkie -" "HELLLOOOOO!" Pinkie threw a tray of something into the oven, jumped over the counter in a single leap, and landed right on top of Rainbow Dash in a big hug, crushing her down to the ground. "Dashie! I'm so glad you've come! Would you believe it? There hasn't been anypony here today 'cept Derpy, and she had the mail so she couldn't stay! It's been so lonely here; I've got all these great cookies and muffins and cakes, and the Cakes are gone in Canterlot (that's big-'C'-Cakes not little-'c'-cakes'; they're still right here uneaten), and there's no one here to eat them 'cept me!" "Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash rolled over and finally extracted herself from the hug. "The wind blew half my pantry down to the ground, so -" "Oh!" Pinkie gasped. "The wind! And rain! Time for a nice piping-hot muffin!" Suddenly, a steaming muffin was on a plate in her outstretched hoof. Dash took a big bite of it. "Mmm... Apple-cinnamon," she said around a full mouth, sinking down on a chair. "Yepparoni! Want another?" Dash shrugged. "So..." Pinkie produced another muffin, with blueberries this time. "Are you Derpy come back in a disguise so I wouldn't know how many muffins she's eating, or What's! Going! On!?" Dash grinned a shallow grin. "Nothing. Just, well, the wind blew half of everything off my shelves. A cloud home's great, and all, but it can really buck you around in storms. And when things blow off the shelves, if they aren't enchanted..." "Ooh!" Pinkie gave a small jump. "Just like when one of my balloons pops! Or, worse, when all of my balloons pop!" "Well, I don't fall." Dash took a bite of the second muffin. Blueberry-cinnamon... How had Pinkie guessed she was in the mood for cinnamon? She hadn't known herself. "Right! Because you're awesome like that!" Pinkie craned her neck around to peer into Dash's face while she took another bite. "So... let me guess, Dashie... Ooh! Were you jealous of this wild thunderstorm?" Dash shook her head. "I could... well, I couldn't do anything this big, but I could make something better if I wanted." She took another nibble. "Got any cider to go with it?" Pinkie shook her head. "Nope, not till next season! There's lots of fresh water, though - just stick your head outside!" She glanced back at the oven. "Let's see... Oh, you saw Rarity's magazine yesterday! Did you want to be the Most Prettiest Mare In All Equestria?" Dash wrinkled her nose. "No... just no." To her surprise, the same weird feeling she'd been feeling earlier yesterday came back a bit. She gulped the last large chunk of muffin to quiet it. "Ooh... Want to make some cupcakes with me?" "Pinkie - you said you already had too many cakes!" "But not cupcakes!" She put on her most pleading expression. "Please, Dashie?" Dash shrugged. Pinkie jumped up straight in the air. "Yay!" She bounded over the counter again; Dash walked around to follow her as she was instantly grabbing bin upon bin in a pink blur. "Oven, flour, sugar, cinnamon, eggs, more sugar... Ooh, water!" She jumped over to the window, yanked it open, held out a cake pan, and jerked it back in again full of rainwater. "Uh, Pinkie...?" Dash asked, stepping back. "Yep?" Pinkie paused, suddenly balancing a large pitcher of cream atop her head. "What do you really need for me to do, anyway?" "Ooh! I could pour this cream over your head... Or you could get me a half-dozen eggs and some milk. They're by the stairs down in the ice cellar." She pointed to a door off in the corner. Dash quizzically stepped down the stairs. Her wings bristled a bit in the dark cellar, as rain pounded overhead. Something was weird with Pinkie... why would she invite her to bake with her? And then send her down to the ice cellar right after she'd (somehow) already gotten cream? Be that as it may, she picked up a glass jar of milk (right next to other jars of cream, just like the one Pinkie had been carrying), carefully balanced the eggs on her back, and flew up the stairs as smoothly as she could. "Oh, great, you're back!" Pinkie exclaimed, leaning over a mixing bowl half as big as she was, half-full of what was probably flour and sugar. "That was a doozy of a speech yesterday, wasn't it? When Twilight was telling us about the storm, and then she let out a great big doozy of magic?" "Yeah." Dash passed Pinkie the eggs. "And then I faced down a princess in her wrath," she said sarcastically. "Or something like that." "Ooh, do we need to be afraid of Nightmare Shadowbolt? No, let me think - Nightmare Thunderstorm! Or - well -" Dash snorted. "Oh, nice! If you were going to go Nightmare, you'd be bragging about that! Instead of feeling - well -" Pinkie looked at Dash, but Dash turned away to stare at the eggs. "Why didn't you just get these whenever you got that jug of cream, by the way?" "'Cause this was sour cream, Dashie! We keep it on the windowsills to go sour!" She dumped in most of a small box of baking soda and then picked up a bucket of something else. "Here! Catch this and give it a taste!" She batted it at Dash with her tail; Dash tried to catch it in her mouth only to have the top break off and cinnamon burst all over her face. "Uh, it tastes good?" she said, licking her lips and trying to brush it off the rest of her face. "Oh, nice!" Pinkie jumped over the bowl, picked up the cinnamon, and knocked a little more of it into the mix. "Did Twilight ever say when she found that wild chaos magic?" "When we were out flying this morning. Some local pegasi came up and asked her to come look at something in the Everfree." Dash frowned. "They were really excited to see a princess fly." "Ooh." Pinkie jumped up and clapped all her hooves together over the bowl, somehow breaking four eggs at once. "Dump in a jar of milk, will you... How was the flight yesterday, by the way?" "Twilight's getting faster. She almost kept up with me," Dash said dully. Pinkie passed Dash a spoon. "Here; stir as fast as you can." For a few minutes, they stirred the batter in silence, to the throbbing drum of rain overhead. Dash licked a little more cinnamon that'd fallen in reach of her tongue. There wasn't a mirror there, but she was sure her face and mane had a lot more on it. It'd come off when she went outside, at least. "You know, I really liked the sunny sky yesterday," Pinkie finally said. "Thanks, but it wasn't needed. Just like I wasn't needed afterwards; Twi was organizing everything perfectly fine on her own." "Still beautiful. And when this storm finally dies off and everypony can come outside again, guess who'll clear the skies?" Rainbow Dash snorted. "All right..." Pinkie stepped back from the bowl and set down her spoon; Rainbow Dash followed suit. "Just one more thing this batter needs... Take a look..." "What?" Dash peered at the batter questioningly. "Just a Dash of cinnamon!" With one great buck, Pinkie kicked Dash head-first into the bowl. Dash's wings flared out reflexively, but far too late. Gooy batter covered Dash's face; she gulped down a few sweet mouthfuls before pulling herself out to see splatters all over the counter and the floor. Pinkie was standing back, smiling broadly. "Pinkie! What was that for!?" "That's what the batter needed, Dashie! Someone to have fun and eat it!" "But -" Dash spluttered, trying to lick it off her face, "that's not -" "Oh, I know it's not cupcakes until we bake it; it's just cupcake batter now, but I think we've still got enough to bake a couple - I did say we've more cakes than we know what to do with - and this batter just needed you, and you needed it!" "But - well, okay, this's really delicious, but -" "See, Dashie, you're needed!" Pinkie jumped over and gave the pegasus a hug. "Both for the weather, and for eating my delicious cupcakes, and for just being yourself! Sure, Twilight can fly fast now and do all sorts of other alicorny stuff, but you're good for much more than that!" "Um -" Pinkie stepped back, produced a detective cap from her mane, and waved a hoof in the air. "Now now, Dashie, don't try to deny it. I could see something was up from when you first stepped in. And it had something to do with the storm, and something to do with Twilight..." "... Yeah." The weird feeling was settling now, as if just recognizing it had lifted it. "I know she's a princess and all, and my friend, but..." "And she's purple, and loves to read, and she's just starting to groom her wings right -" "It's called preening, Pinkie." "And, well, you can still feel jealous, and lost. Like I did when Cheese Sandwich came to town, and I interrupted him right in the middle of doing Party Pony stuff. Just like you interrupted Twilight right in the middle of doing princessy stuff. But -" She spun the detective cap in the air before putting it away. "- you can still go on, and be yourself, and that's something nopony else can do!" Dash grinned. "Thanks, Pinkie. I guess..." She flexed her wings, not sure what to say next. "... I'll talk to Twilight?" "Oh, don't leave - we've got a little more batter we really should bake!" Dash chuckled. "... and then," Pinkie said, producing a tray and passing a spoon to Dash, "yes, probably talk to Twilight. Have a reading party or something! Just be a friend, and be yourself. And that -" She held up the spoon like a sword at salute "- is my friendship lesson for the day!" Dash grinned. "And now, let's bake some cupcakes!" Dash ducked outside while the cupcakes were baking, to clean the batter off her coat. The cinnamon came off, too. But even without a Dash of cinnamon, the cupcakes were still good. "Thanks," Dash said, nibbling the last crumbs of her cupcake. "For the cupcake. For just being Pinkie. And everything." "Thanks, Dashie! And - just a moment -" Pinkie ducked into the oven, came out with the second tray of cupcakes, produced a box with a bow on top from out of her mane, and flipped the cupcakes into it with a single nod of her head. "Here! Take these with you!" "For -" "For Twilight - you're going to see her next, right?" "Um..." The same weird sense of jealousy resurfaced for a moment, but less, now that she knew what it was. "Sure. And... well, apologize. And give her the cupcakes. Though I don't think she needs the dash of cinnamon." Pinkie giggled. "Maybe I should put you in my cupcakes more!" Author's Note Cover art is by dm29 on DeviantArt; used with permission. Ponies are by Hasbro, Faust, et al; used with no infringement intended. Yes, putting Dash in cupcakes was a reference to that story. Yes, that one. Twilight's special alicorn powers - that is, the "doozy" ones - are closely inspired by Jordan179's fanon that Celestia and Luna intentionally designed the alicorn body to signal "hyperdominance" to all other ponies. He's got some excellent stories and elaborate fanon; go read them!
Purple streak dashing through the airRainbow dashed through the air, splitting it apart like an arrow. Through the whipping wind, she could almost feel the color barrier pushing against her mane as she cut through the cloud, spun around, and shot a smug glance back... only to see Twilight less than a furlong behind. The new princess's whole barrel was puffing, and she looked relieved as she slowed, but all the same, she was too close! "Wow!" Dash exclaimed. "Nobody's ever come that close in the thirty-mile dash!" "Thirty-mile Dash..." Twilight puffed, swooping down to land on another cloud slightly below them. Dash tucked in her wings and swooped down to join her. "And... you seem... ready for thirty more." "Ha ha!" Dash put a broad smile on her face as she looked at Twilight more closely than she'd done since... she didn't remember when. Her friend had definitely grown. Her neck stretched higher, her wings and back were set in a more graceful curve, but there was something more about her that Dash couldn't place. Maybe it was just egghead stuff, or Princess stuff, but it felt important for some reason. "Wow, how you've grown," she said. Twilight glanced down at herself. "I suppose so. Spike's been complaining how high he needs to jump to get onto my back these days." "Well, just tell him he's still the first person to ride a Princess since... whenever!" "Since I was five," Twilight chuckled. Dash jumped back almost off the cloud. "You rode Princess Celestia!" Twilight gasped. "Oh no no no! I'd never dare do that! But Cadance was so - so close! And," she added with a laugh, "I was just a filly. But even then, I could see she was growing... sort of like I'm growing now, though she was already a Princess." "Oh?" Dash settled down to listen to her newly-alicornified friend. "Princess Celestia told me I'm growing into my alicorn stature. It'll take about thirty years, and even then I'll never achieve quite the size of her or of Princess Luna unless I associate myself with another spring of magic like theirs -" "Woah, woah!" Dash held up her forelimbs. "No lecture on magic! Just, I guess, you were born as an alicorn, and now you're growing up as an alicorn?" "Um, that analogy completely neglects the nature of the magic involved, and the infusions of aetherical -" "But it's basically right?" "Um, yes. I guess." She added in a mumble, "All the books use it, anyway..." "But... what's this really going to mean?" Dash pawed at the cloud. "I mean, are you gonna keep getting faster and faster..." Twilight fluttered her wings thoughtfully. "... how fast is Princess Celestia, anyway?" "... oh! If you're really looking into alicorn speed, you'd want to look atLuna. Princess Celestia hasn't done any real flying since the last Griffin Wars, and that was more for show than anything else." Dash looked down. They'd been racing along the edge of the Everfree Forest; it still beckoned off to their right. There was a little village ahead, with a few farmponies out in the fields under Celestia's sun... and a small group of ponies coming out of the forest right beneath them. Dash couldn't tell what they'd been doing there - they were too far away to make out any signs of saddlebags - but they milled around each other slowly as if they'd found something uncomfortable. "You wanna swoop down and see what's going on?" Twilight looked down, extended her wings, and shook her head. "No; I think I can fly back to Ponyville if we take it slow." Dash cocked her head. "You sure?" Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment but then grinned. "Give me a moment to drink... I saw a stream by that village." Dash nodded. But as they slowly flew down, two pegasi from the forest party flew up to meet them. "Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!" the lead pony cried pleadingly. Twilight tried to straighten out her mane, but it only rumpled again. "Um... yes?" "Princess Twilight!" The pegasi both tucked their wings into the traditional flying-bow. "What a surprise to have Your Serene Highness visiting - are you here for any particular concern?" "We're out flying," Dash interrupted. "Oh!" The second Pegasus perked up. "I've never have the privilege of seeing a princess fly before! Might we have the honor -" Her companion silenced her with a quick glare. "Pray pardon Cloudy Wings. But..." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Twilight said, "Of course. Were you trying to say something?" "Um, I don't mean to presume, but since Your Highness happens to be here..." "Just get on with it!" Dash interrupted. "What Spiral Hooves's saying," Cloudy Wings burst out, "is that we found some big aura of magic in the Everfree, and none of us know what it is, and we'd like it if you came to take a look!" "Yes!" Spiral Hooves said. "I mean, if Your Highness would rather we talk to the mayor first -" "No need," Twilight said with a smile. "I'd be glad to help!" Both ponies sighed with relief. "Um, just how far into the Everfree is this?" Dash asked. Spiral Hooves looked uncomfortable, and Cloudy Wings said uncertainly, "A few miles?" "Oh." Dash frowned. "I don't think I can come then - there's a storm gathering on our end of the Everfree, and we need to clear the skies in advance of it." "Do you think they're linked, Princess?" Spiral Hooves suggested. Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash; Dash immediately shook her head. "Nah. The storm's just ordinary wild weather." "Well then," Twilight said, "I'm sorry we can't fly back together. But this could be important - I mean, the last wild magic we found here stole away the Princesses!" Spiral Hooves and Cloudy Wings both shivered. Rainbow Dash shrugged ostentatiously. "I'll be getting back, then. See you... tomorrow morning?" Rainbow Dash flew into Ponyville at her normal cruising speed, turned a figure-eight over the town square, and peeled off to the weather patrol offices. A few straggling weatherponies followed on her tail. "All right, everypony!" she announced to the large herd of pegasi in the meadow outside the patrol offices. With all hooves on duty, they could hardly fit inside. "We've got a wild thunderstorm brewing in the Everfree Forest! Since we can't get to it in there, we need to keep any of the clouds here from fueling it. So, time to clear the skies all over the township! Any questions?" A hoof was raised in the back. "Yes, Blossomforth?" "Can't you clear the skies by yourself?" Rainbow Dash winced. "Over the town, yes. But we need to get the whole area clear! And I'm giving you all a chance to prove your worth! So, get to it!" Dash hung back as the weather patrol flew away. She felt she was missing something. She didn't know what to do with that feeling - it wasn't quite like when she was choosing between the two teams for the Games, or when she'd almost traded Fluttershy away; that felt bad, but she knew what to do about it. Look for which friends she was forgetting, and do something about that. But this was a different something she was missing now, and it still felt bad. She flexed her wings, wondering if she should fly up, call the team back, and try to clear the skies by herself. No - she wasn't sure she could do the whole area, and definitely not after racing Twilight earlier. But should she? Making her decision quickly, she dashed up to the slowest team of pegasi. "Hey, Bluebell, I'm coming with you!" "A little more oomph in that kick, Bluebell!" "Over there, Blossomforth - we're not trying to arrange them; we're getting rid of them!" "No need to make them rain, Bon Voyage; we need to get them all out of here tonight!" Finally, as afternoon turned into evening, the skies were all clear as far as Dash could see. After dismissing the weather team with praise for their good work, she glided slowly back into town. Another job had been well done, and she'd been there bustling around ever part of it... but it still felt like she was missing something. Maybe a good Daring Do book would help? That's what Twilight would recommend, she thought. But that idea just made her somehow feel even more uncomfortable. "WATCH OUT!" Dash swerved just in time to avoid crashing into the newspaper stand. "Thanks, Rarity," she said, extending a hoof down to the unicorn who was quickly stuffing a glossy magazine into her saddlebags. The other ponies in the market square glanced at them for a moment before deciding it was just another near-crash by Dash. "Oh, think nothing of it, Rainbow. I was just finishing up my shopping and about to head home for supper; would you like to walk with me back to the Boutique?" "Sure!" she said brightly. Rainbow Dash wafted through the air above Rarity as she started talking about some dresses she was pressing on Twilight for some event at the Crystal Empire. "Fortunately, Spike's been ever so helpful. I don't know what I'd have done without him - Twilight's much too busy to come stand for measurements every week, and I can't be confident in any of her old numbers now that she's growing into her alicornity. That new neck of hers needs something to show it off properly. I can understand now why the Princesses -" "Huh? Alicornity?" Dash interrupted a little late. "Why, of course!" Rarity stepped to one side to look at the pegasus without craning her neck. "Haven't you noticed? It's the most marvelous thing!" "Ah, that." "You look... downcast." Dash shrugged, flying a loop around Rarity. Rarity paused for a moment before continuing. "... and Spike's going along, and he could wear his darling old tuxedo, but - don't you tell him - I'm planning to make him a new suit as thanks. I was thinking about white, with the snow in the Crystal Empire and all. And it would match the glimmer on his scales. But don't you think blue would go better with Twilight's coat, at least?" "Huh? Oh? Whatever you think." Rarity paused a moment, looking ahead at her Boutique, now just down the street. "Perhaps both. Blue suit set with white diamonds. Why, just last week Photo Finish was showing a simply marvelous outfit in all the magazines..." It was another minute before Dash thought to ask, "Hey, by the way, talking about magazines - what was that magazine you were getting?" "Oh!" Rarity's hoof went to her mouth as she glanced around with an affected laugh. "That - that thing? It's just a little something I picked up out of mere curiosity -" "Come on..." Dash pressed. "Oh, if you insist... come on inside." A little suspicious now, Dash entered. The room was strewn with the usual frou-frou accessories, but one space on the table was clear between a half-stitched seam and some gems. Rarity reluctantly set the magazine down there. In large glossy letters, between pictures of... were those strands from Fluttershy's and Rarity's manes?... it promised: The Elements of Harmony: Who's the Prettiest? Dash burst out in laughter. "Please understand, Rainbow Dash, I'm not taking this seriously," Rarity said. "I just want to..." (she gestured in the air) "keep my ears up for what people are thinking of us." "Okay, okay," Dash guffawed. "Go ahead - who do they say's the most frou-frou of us all? You?" "Well, I did win the title last summer..." "You mean this's a regular thing?" Rarity nodded. "Twice a year, ever since Luna's Return! And laugh as much as you want, Rainbow Dash, but some ponies take this seriously!" She tossed her well-groomed mane. "Okay, okay, who won this time?" "I had not yet taken a look..." Dash flipped the magazine open to a two-page spread of some strange mare wearing a tail-bow. She backed off in shock. "You find it." Rarity daintily flipped several more pages to a spread of their six faces, surrounding a box of text. "Here's the article. And then..." She turned one more page, to a closeup of Twilight. "Twilight won!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief. Rarity nodded, skimming the article. "A novel upset, they say... Homely girl does good... Continues her regal triumph... And many less, ahem, presentable words." Dash narrowed her eyes. "What're they saying about us? They aren't just trying to buck around, are they?" Rarity shook her head, sending her mane flying. "Neigh! I would never read that sort of magazine!" She held her shocked expression for a moment before leaning back over the magazine. "Twilight really has stretched her muzzle quite well, though I think they take it a little too far... And her barrel has filled out admirably..." Dash made a face. This was starting to get even more uncomfortable than before. "Now they say her mane preserves her friendly demeanor, but I think if only she -" "What do they mean by that?" Dash groaned. "Well, they don't put it quite that way..." "What do they say?" "They say - I quote - 'keeps her just as much the hometown girl you've all loved.'" Dash burst out laughing again.
Rainbow blaze grounded at twilight"Dragon! Flood! Fire! Griffins! Horror!" Rainbow Dash and Rarity both jumped up at the screams from outside. Dash threw the door open; a crowd of ponies was galloping toward the marketplace. "What's up?" she demanded. "Flood! Fire!" Daisy neighed. "Fly -" "Hey, if there's a flood, there can't be a fire!" "The Princess -" "Princess Celestia!?" Rarity gasped. Daisy galloped off; Lily neighed "Princess Twilight!" before following. Dash narrowed her eyes at the near-stampede in the street, and then glanced back at Rarity. The next moment, they were flying and galloping for Twilight. Trouble was brewing. The marketplace, to Dash's relief, was much calmer than the streets. Twilight was standing on the back of Applejack's wagon, looking like she'd just touched down. She wasn't frazzled, and only mildly frantic. Dash sighed with relief; there was no disaster. Then she glanced over the crowd; they were far too frightened to have noticed. "Everypony!" Twilight exclaimed, raising her wings. "Calm down!" Lily shrieked; the crowd started shifting their hooves on the edge of stampede. Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Nothing's happening! I mean, there's no disaster; a few things might go bad, but -" "DRAGON!" Daisy yelled, turning to bolt. Applejack, standing next to the wagon, shook her head sadly. Twilight suddenly lit up her horn. Her mane jumped up, flowing out in an aurora. Daisy was seized in purple magic and dragged back into place. "EVERYPONY!" Twilight exclaimed in something really close to the Royal Canterlot Voice. "There's no need to panic!" Before she could even think about it, Dash instinctively gave a flying-bow. Below her, the rest of the crowd was kneeling. Dash hadn't even thought before her body was bowing; it was almost like... that time Princess Celestia had appeared in all her radiance to end the Smarty Pants Disaster. Maybe it was something about alicorns? "Now," Twilight continued, her hair back in place and her voice normal, "As I was saying before you all interrupted me -" Daisy cringed; no one else moved. Everyone was still on their knees. "I was just on the other side of the Everfree, and I saw some latent magic that was triggered by something. I'm not sure what; it might have been Nightmare Moon, but there was a large ancient signature of chaos that makes me think it might have been the plunder vines -" Applejack loudly cleared her throat. "Anyway," Twilight continued, "we've got some rogue magic. Fortunately, it'll blow itself out in a day or two, but in the meantime, no matter how many tame clouds we've cleared, we will be getting a very strong wild thunderstorm." Dash's heart sank. She flexed her wings, but something still held her in place. It was Pinkie Pie who jumped up, producing two large cymbals from her mane. "Let's all get ready, then!" She clapped them together like thunder. Everypony around her flinched, and a few of them jumped up from kneeling. "Uh, right, Pinkie. Sorry, everypony." Twilight shifted, looking a little embarrassed. "But, we still do need to storm-proof the whole town this evening! Now, Applejack and Carrot Top, can you tie down everything in the market; Fluttershy, can you make sure the animals' burrows are ready for rain; Silver Spanner, can you double-check the dam..." Dash raced forward to Twilight. "Hey, Twi!" "Uh -" Twilight sidestepped, but Dash brought herself to a quick stop right in front of her, wings outstretched. "Um, Rainbow Dash? Uh, could you -" "Hey!" Dash paused a moment, not sure what to say, and seized the first words that came to mind. "Organizing the weather's my job!" Twilight glanced from Dash to the crowd. (Dash didn't bother looking.) "Well, Rainbow, I only just noticed the wild storm -" "Silver Spanner!" Dash snapped. She looked at the crowd, only then noticing they were looking at her and Twilight with worry. "Um... yes. You take the, um, check the drainage in the south meadow. Blue October, you take the dam." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts, which were scattered every which way like wild clouds. "Hey, what're you waiting for?" "Um..." Silver Spanner crept forward, wings furled. "Princess Twi -" Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, Twilight gestured dismissal. Dash glared at her. Silver Spanner galloped off. Twilight gestured for Dash to continue. Dash swallowed, suddenly feeling as if something had gone even worse. "Blossomforth, riverbanks downstream. And Bluebell," she quickly added, suddenly unsure just how much work the banks needed, even though she should know it like the feathers in her wings. "Candyfloss, upstream riverbanks..." As Dash was looking through the crowd, she thought she saw Pinkie Pie shaking her head slowly. But when she looked back, Pinkie had vanished. Uncertainly, Dash continued listing off all the jobs she thought she remembered, and then (sure she'd forgotten something) finished, "All right, everypony, to work!" Twilight might have given a nod then, but Dash only saw it out of the corner of her eye - with that final word, Dash rocketed homeward like a thunderbolt. She felt sure something there had gone very wrong. Should they have just hunkered down for the storm? No, they needed to prepare for it. And it really was her job. But still... she wished she could have said something better to Twilight, wished it could have gone better. But she didn't know how. The wild thunderstorm hit in the middle of the night. Rainbow Dash's cloud house lit up with lightening as it was tossed back and forth in the wind and rain. But in the middle of it all, the pegasus - as weather-proof as all her kind - rolled over with just a small grumble. All that cloud work yesterday, and nothing to show for it. It wasn't the storm; she'd ridden out plenty of regularly-scheduled rainy nights in her cloud. But something kept her awake for several hours before the thunder finally soothed her back to sleep.
The pink and rainbow light of dawnRain was still rumbling down all around Dash's cloud the next morning like a million tiny galloping hooves. Dash rolled out of bed, bounced up when her cloud bucked in the wind, and flew over to her pantry for breakfast. She quickly discovered that most of her food had been knocked to the floor in the night; half of it had come un-enchanted and fallen to the ground below, and she didn't feel like cleaning up and eating the other half. With a shrug, she decided to fly down for breakfast at Sugarcube Corner. The rain-swept streets were deserted except for a few pegasi. Derpy was making her only-somewhat-late mail rounds; Blossomforth was flying out to the train station (Dash remembered she was scheduled to go on leave today); Thunderlane was poking his hooves into the muddy streets and frowning. With only a few "hello"'s, Rainbow Dash ducked into a brightly-lit but almost-deserted Sugarcube Corner. "Hey, Pinkie -" "HELLLOOOOO!" Pinkie threw a tray of something into the oven, jumped over the counter in a single leap, and landed right on top of Rainbow Dash in a big hug, crushing her down to the ground. "Dashie! I'm so glad you've come! Would you believe it? There hasn't been anypony here today 'cept Derpy, and she had the mail so she couldn't stay! It's been so lonely here; I've got all these great cookies and muffins and cakes, and the Cakes are gone in Canterlot (that's big-'C'-Cakes not little-'c'-cakes'; they're still right here uneaten), and there's no one here to eat them 'cept me!" "Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash rolled over and finally extracted herself from the hug. "The wind blew half my pantry down to the ground, so -" "Oh!" Pinkie gasped. "The wind! And rain! Time for a nice piping-hot muffin!" Suddenly, a steaming muffin was on a plate in her outstretched hoof. Dash took a big bite of it. "Mmm... Apple-cinnamon," she said around a full mouth, sinking down on a chair. "Yepparoni! Want another?" Dash shrugged. "So..." Pinkie produced another muffin, with blueberries this time. "Are you Derpy come back in a disguise so I wouldn't know how many muffins she's eating, or What's! Going! On!?" Dash grinned a shallow grin. "Nothing. Just, well, the wind blew half of everything off my shelves. A cloud home's great, and all, but it can really buck you around in storms. And when things blow off the shelves, if they aren't enchanted..." "Ooh!" Pinkie gave a small jump. "Just like when one of my balloons pops! Or, worse, when all of my balloons pop!" "Well, I don't fall." Dash took a bite of the second muffin. Blueberry-cinnamon... How had Pinkie guessed she was in the mood for cinnamon? She hadn't known herself. "Right! Because you're awesome like that!" Pinkie craned her neck around to peer into Dash's face while she took another bite. "So... let me guess, Dashie... Ooh! Were you jealous of this wild thunderstorm?" Dash shook her head. "I could... well, I couldn't do anything this big, but I could make something better if I wanted." She took another nibble. "Got any cider to go with it?" Pinkie shook her head. "Nope, not till next season! There's lots of fresh water, though - just stick your head outside!" She glanced back at the oven. "Let's see... Oh, you saw Rarity's magazine yesterday! Did you want to be the Most Prettiest Mare In All Equestria?" Dash wrinkled her nose. "No... just no." To her surprise, the same weird feeling she'd been feeling earlier yesterday came back a bit. She gulped the last large chunk of muffin to quiet it. "Ooh... Want to make some cupcakes with me?" "Pinkie - you said you already had too many cakes!" "But not cupcakes!" She put on her most pleading expression. "Please, Dashie?" Dash shrugged. Pinkie jumped up straight in the air. "Yay!" She bounded over the counter again; Dash walked around to follow her as she was instantly grabbing bin upon bin in a pink blur. "Oven, flour, sugar, cinnamon, eggs, more sugar... Ooh, water!" She jumped over to the window, yanked it open, held out a cake pan, and jerked it back in again full of rainwater. "Uh, Pinkie...?" Dash asked, stepping back. "Yep?" Pinkie paused, suddenly balancing a large pitcher of cream atop her head. "What do you really need for me to do, anyway?" "Ooh! I could pour this cream over your head... Or you could get me a half-dozen eggs and some milk. They're by the stairs down in the ice cellar." She pointed to a door off in the corner. Dash quizzically stepped down the stairs. Her wings bristled a bit in the dark cellar, as rain pounded overhead. Something was weird with Pinkie... why would she invite her to bake with her? And then send her down to the ice cellar right after she'd (somehow) already gotten cream? Be that as it may, she picked up a glass jar of milk (right next to other jars of cream, just like the one Pinkie had been carrying), carefully balanced the eggs on her back, and flew up the stairs as smoothly as she could. "Oh, great, you're back!" Pinkie exclaimed, leaning over a mixing bowl half as big as she was, half-full of what was probably flour and sugar. "That was a doozy of a speech yesterday, wasn't it? When Twilight was telling us about the storm, and then she let out a great big doozy of magic?" "Yeah." Dash passed Pinkie the eggs. "And then I faced down a princess in her wrath," she said sarcastically. "Or something like that." "Ooh, do we need to be afraid of Nightmare Shadowbolt? No, let me think - Nightmare Thunderstorm! Or - well -" Dash snorted. "Oh, nice! If you were going to go Nightmare, you'd be bragging about that! Instead of feeling - well -" Pinkie looked at Dash, but Dash turned away to stare at the eggs. "Why didn't you just get these whenever you got that jug of cream, by the way?" "'Cause this was sour cream, Dashie! We keep it on the windowsills to go sour!" She dumped in most of a small box of baking soda and then picked up a bucket of something else. "Here! Catch this and give it a taste!" She batted it at Dash with her tail; Dash tried to catch it in her mouth only to have the top break off and cinnamon burst all over her face. "Uh, it tastes good?" she said, licking her lips and trying to brush it off the rest of her face. "Oh, nice!" Pinkie jumped over the bowl, picked up the cinnamon, and knocked a little more of it into the mix. "Did Twilight ever say when she found that wild chaos magic?" "When we were out flying this morning. Some local pegasi came up and asked her to come look at something in the Everfree." Dash frowned. "They were really excited to see a princess fly." "Ooh." Pinkie jumped up and clapped all her hooves together over the bowl, somehow breaking four eggs at once. "Dump in a jar of milk, will you... How was the flight yesterday, by the way?" "Twilight's getting faster. She almost kept up with me," Dash said dully. Pinkie passed Dash a spoon. "Here; stir as fast as you can." For a few minutes, they stirred the batter in silence, to the throbbing drum of rain overhead. Dash licked a little more cinnamon that'd fallen in reach of her tongue. There wasn't a mirror there, but she was sure her face and mane had a lot more on it. It'd come off when she went outside, at least. "You know, I really liked the sunny sky yesterday," Pinkie finally said. "Thanks, but it wasn't needed. Just like I wasn't needed afterwards; Twi was organizing everything perfectly fine on her own." "Still beautiful. And when this storm finally dies off and everypony can come outside again, guess who'll clear the skies?" Rainbow Dash snorted. "All right..." Pinkie stepped back from the bowl and set down her spoon; Rainbow Dash followed suit. "Just one more thing this batter needs... Take a look..." "What?" Dash peered at the batter questioningly. "Just a Dash of cinnamon!" With one great buck, Pinkie kicked Dash head-first into the bowl. Dash's wings flared out reflexively, but far too late. Gooy batter covered Dash's face; she gulped down a few sweet mouthfuls before pulling herself out to see splatters all over the counter and the floor. Pinkie was standing back, smiling broadly. "Pinkie! What was that for!?" "That's what the batter needed, Dashie! Someone to have fun and eat it!" "But -" Dash spluttered, trying to lick it off her face, "that's not -" "Oh, I know it's not cupcakes until we bake it; it's just cupcake batter now, but I think we've still got enough to bake a couple - I did say we've more cakes than we know what to do with - and this batter just needed you, and you needed it!" "But - well, okay, this's really delicious, but -" "See, Dashie, you're needed!" Pinkie jumped over and gave the pegasus a hug. "Both for the weather, and for eating my delicious cupcakes, and for just being yourself! Sure, Twilight can fly fast now and do all sorts of other alicorny stuff, but you're good for much more than that!" "Um -" Pinkie stepped back, produced a detective cap from her mane, and waved a hoof in the air. "Now now, Dashie, don't try to deny it. I could see something was up from when you first stepped in. And it had something to do with the storm, and something to do with Twilight..." "... Yeah." The weird feeling was settling now, as if just recognizing it had lifted it. "I know she's a princess and all, and my friend, but..." "And she's purple, and loves to read, and she's just starting to groom her wings right -" "It's called preening, Pinkie." "And, well, you can still feel jealous, and lost. Like I did when Cheese Sandwich came to town, and I interrupted him right in the middle of doing Party Pony stuff. Just like you interrupted Twilight right in the middle of doing princessy stuff. But -" She spun the detective cap in the air before putting it away. "- you can still go on, and be yourself, and that's something nopony else can do!" Dash grinned. "Thanks, Pinkie. I guess..." She flexed her wings, not sure what to say next. "... I'll talk to Twilight?" "Oh, don't leave - we've got a little more batter we really should bake!" Dash chuckled. "... and then," Pinkie said, producing a tray and passing a spoon to Dash, "yes, probably talk to Twilight. Have a reading party or something! Just be a friend, and be yourself. And that -" She held up the spoon like a sword at salute "- is my friendship lesson for the day!" Dash grinned. "And now, let's bake some cupcakes!" Dash ducked outside while the cupcakes were baking, to clean the batter off her coat. The cinnamon came off, too. But even without a Dash of cinnamon, the cupcakes were still good. "Thanks," Dash said, nibbling the last crumbs of her cupcake. "For the cupcake. For just being Pinkie. And everything." "Thanks, Dashie! And - just a moment -" Pinkie ducked into the oven, came out with the second tray of cupcakes, produced a box with a bow on top from out of her mane, and flipped the cupcakes into it with a single nod of her head. "Here! Take these with you!" "For -" "For Twilight - you're going to see her next, right?" "Um..." The same weird sense of jealousy resurfaced for a moment, but less, now that she knew what it was. "Sure. And... well, apologize. And give her the cupcakes. Though I don't think she needs the dash of cinnamon." Pinkie giggled. "Maybe I should put you in my cupcakes more!" Author's Note Cover art is by dm29 on DeviantArt; used with permission. Ponies are by Hasbro, Faust, et al; used with no infringement intended. Yes, putting Dash in cupcakes was a reference to that story. Yes, that one. Twilight's special alicorn powers - that is, the "doozy" ones - are closely inspired by Jordan179's fanon that Celestia and Luna intentionally designed the alicorn body to signal "hyperdominance" to all other ponies. He's got some excellent stories and elaborate fanon; go read them!
