A pang of regret filled my heart as the train pulled out of Canterlot Terminal. Yes, Ponyville was home and Carousel Boutique was the core of my burgeoning business, but it always hurt to see those beautiful spires pull away. To say nothing of what Sassy Saddles—
No, no, I was above putting such thoughts into words, even in my own mind. I was better than that. Instead, I opened the copy of A Mare Named Spade that had seen me through the trip here and returned to Shadow's exploits.
"Yeah, I can see that."
I jolted up and turned to my right. "Rainbow Dash?"
She stood in the aisle, smirking at me. "You were thinking out loud again."
I cleared my throat. "Yes. Well. I suppose I'm still a bit caught up in today's drama. But while I'm always happy to see you, I must ask, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
Her eyes widened. "Who said anything was wrong?"
"For one, you aren't hovering. You walk about as often as I work with plaid." Furthermore, she had the worst poker face I'd ever seen, but I certainly wasn't going to tell her that.
She shrugged her wings. "Hey, practice runs, doing the Aerial Flower Formation, flying to the Crystal Mountains and back, it takes a lot out of a pony."
I nodded. It was certainly understandable. I might have even believed it had she been able to make eye contact with me as she said it. "I can certainly see how you'd be rather weary after that. But why aren't you still with the Wonderbolts? I'd assumed there would be some manner of afterparty."
"Well, you know, reserve flier and all." Rainbow gave a weak chuckle. She still couldn't meet my eyes. "I'm not getting all the perks quite yet."
"Are you sure?" I put a hoof over my heart. "You know I'm happy to help in whatever way I can."
She scowled at me. Her wings began to open in her agitation, and she couldn't entirely hide the wince. It seemed that much was true, at least. “You’re not gonna go all Shadow Spade on me, are you?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. If I’m going to ‘go all’ anything on you, it will be going all Rarity." I gave a friendly smile. "You look like you need a sympathetic ear, not a private eye.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need either."
"Well, in that case, would you at least accept a little company for the ride back?" I patted the seat.
Rainbow smiled. "Sure." She settled in next to me. "So, what were you saying about Sassy Saddles?"
A chill ran down my spine. "Oh dear. I said that out loud?"
She gave me a flat look. "I told you you did."
I looked away. "It's a personal matter."
"You're not the only pony who's willing to listen, y'know." After a moment, Rainbow added, "As long as it isn't about fabric or something."
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but grin as I turned back to her. "I am awestruck by your sympathy, Rainbow Dash."
She tilted her head up proudly. "What can I say? I'm just that good."
I sighed. "Well, ashamed as I am to admit it, I am somewhat concerned about how Sassy will run Canterlot Carousel. I want to believe that she has taken the Rules of Rarity to heart, but her resume speaks of just how many boutiques she's run into the ground over the years. Old habits die hard, as they say."
Rainbow made a most uncouth sound with her lips. "C'mon, you gotta have a little more faith in your friends. She didn't look like she was trying to take the store out from under you the other day."
"Well, she wouldn't under my direct supervision, now would she?"
Rainbow looked as incredulous as I did. "And you really think she will while you're not there? The way you set her straight, she'd probably fight Spike and that one mare from Manehattan for the title of your number-one fan."
I couldn't help but picture Sassy in a tussle with Spike and Coco Pommel, one of the more baffling images that has ever come to my mind. "Do you really think so?"
"Definitely." Rainbow tapped her chest. "Trust me, I know fans. She'd be wearing your face on a T-shirt if she wasn't so classy."
"I see. In that case, I defer to your expertise." I dipped my head to her. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash."
She grinned. "No problem."
"I suppose with some ponies it really is as simple as just pointing them in the right direction."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah. Some ponies."
I raised an eyebrow. "You're sure there's nothing bothering you?"
She took a deep breath and looked away. "Yeah."
Well, the direct approach clearly wasn't working. I put on a grin. "Glad to hear it."
"Yup, I'm just fine," she said, about as believable as a Maresace knockoff.
"Good to know." I gave her a nod, then turned back to my book.
"Okay."
"Indeed."
It couldn't have been more than a minute before Rainbow started fidgeting. I kept my eyes on the thriller, but my attention was on the sounds next to me: her teeth grinding, the springs on the seat squeaking as she shifted about, her hooves tapping on the floor of the train, a veritable symphony of fidgeting.
Scant moments later, she cried, "All right, all right!"
I looked up from my book, the very picture of innocent concern. "Is something the matter, Rainbow?"
She threw her forehooves into the air. "Oh, come on! I know you're doing this on purpose."
"Doing what on purpose?"
Rainbow scowled at me. "Acting dumb so I'll open up about what's bothering me."
I brought my mouth into a little "o" of surprise. "So something is bothering you?"
She crossed her forelegs and looked away. For a moment, I worried that I might have pressed too hard, but she then sighed and said, "Yeah."
"You don't have to share if you don't want to," I said as I scooted a bit closer to her.
"You kidding?" She smirked. "There's no way I'd survive the ride with you trying to make me tell you like this."
"I haven't said a word."
Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, I know." She took a deep breath. "It's... You see..." She grimaced and spat out a sentence like it was a burnt cupcake. "I don't know if I want to be a Wonderbolt anymore."
I gasped in genuine shock, forehooves over my mouth. "What? But darling, this is your life's dream we're talking about!" I leaned closer. "Whatever could've led you to such a dreadful decision?"
"Three times, Rarity," Rainbow said, staring at nothing. "It's been three times now that the 'Bolts have let me down. First there was Lightning Dust at the academy. Sure, she was just a cadet with a chip on her withers, but Spitfire still made her the lead. She saw somepony who didn't care about anypony else, and she thought that was better Wonderbolt material than me." She turned to me. "What's that tell you?"
I paused for a beat. This had seemed like a monologue; I wasn't expecting to get involved. "Er, the Wonderbolts need a better screening process?"
Rainbow gave a humorless laugh. "Maybe. But then Spitfire did it herself at the Equestria Games qualifier, her and Fleetfoot. They dropped Soarin' the moment he got hurt and tried to make me betray my team."
"Well, they weren't officially serving as Wonderbolts at the time." The moment the words left my lips, I winced and wished I could take them back.
Judging by Rainbow's scowl, so did she. "What does that matter? It's just wrong, official or not. And then Wind Rider. Wind Rider!" She had worked herself up to a wail. "The living legend! He of all ponies tries to sabotage an air show just to bring down somepony who might have a shot at beating his record. And the way he was talking, he thought that was how Wonderbolts are expected to act!"
"Spitfire seemed to disagree," I noted. "She stripped him of his Wonderbolt status when his misdeeds came to light. Rather dramatically, I should say."
"Yeah, sure, but is that what she would've done if it had been before the qualifier?" Rainbow hung her head. "This isn't the team I thought it was, Rarity. I don't know what it is, but it's not the team I've wanted to fly with since I was a filly."
I nodded. "It rarely ends well when dreams meet reality."
Rainbow turned to me, one eyebrow raised. "Uh, this is me we're talking about, Rarity. You know I'm not that great at the whole subtext thing."
"I'm saying that your current situation isn't dissimilar to what I faced during that..." I shuddered. "That horrendous Grand Galloping Gala. The first one, I mean."
Rainbow said nothing for a few moments. She recoiled when she made the connection. "Are you seriously saying that the Wonderbolts are like Prince Blueblood?"
"Well, in a certain sense, yes. Your fondest wish walks up to you and effectively spits in your face." I sighed as unwanted, boorish memories came to mind. "It's a crushing experience."
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah. It is."
Inspiration struck. I brought a hoof to my chin. "Still, perhaps this is for the best."
She looked at me like I had said that silk was suitable for a shower curtain. "Huh?"
"Perhaps they're all worried that you'll show them up."
"What?" Her brow was furrowing, her mouth turning down. Good.
"Well, think about it," I said airily. "The moment you were going to graduate from cadet, they established a reserve with a written test requirement, practically tailor-made to delay you, if not keep you out entirely."
Rainbow was fully scowling now. "The reserve was made to keep situations like what happened at the Equestria Games qualifier from happening again."
I nodded. "How strange that it hadn't been established before then, wouldn't you say? After all, the Wonderbolts have centuries of history behind them. Surely that couldn't have been the first time one was injured. And yet, up went another barrier. Back went the goalposts. It's almost as though they're deliberately dragging it out, making you wait until you're past your prime, until they stop feeling threatened by you."
She slipped off the seat, onto her hooves. Her wings flared out as she shouted, "That's not true!"
I shrugged. "I'm just saying how it looks to me."
"Well you're looking wrong! They may be jerks sometimes, but you know what? That just means I've gotta un-jerk them. I may want to be with them, but all these times have shown me that they need me." Rainbow brought a hoof to her chest. "Somepony's gotta make them live up to what they're supposed to be, and that pony's gonna be me."
I felt a corner of my mouth rise. “So you still want to be a Wonderbolt?”
She stomped a hoof. “Of course I do!”
“Well, problem solved, then." I smiled fully, then turned back to my book.
I felt the cushion shift as Rainbow sat back down. A few muted whines came from her end of the seat. Finally, she asked, “What just happened?”
I glanced over with a grin. “I told you before, darling. I went all Rarity on you.”
