The Best of the Best

by Twidashforever

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Drama
Length: 6949

What do you do once your dream is taken away from you? Rainbow Dash finds herself in that very position. She has to find herself a new dream, a dream that might lead to something she never expected.

We all have dreams, goals, and ideas. We all want for something, want to ascribe to be something. But… what happens once you’ve achieved that goal? What do you do if you’ll never achieve that goal? If circumstances in life prevent you from ever being able to do the thing you love?

Two ponies, two friends, each have to deal with a different version of that question. But maybe they can find the answer together, and maybe, just maybe, they’ll find something else as well.

A cowrite with Moonlit Sparkle. Edited by DeputyDuck and RofLmao.

Published 2015-11-26 18:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-26 18:20:02 UTC

What Would a Brave pony Do?

The seconds ticked by as she stared across the desk, unwilling and unable to believe what she had just heard with her own ears. The yellow pegasus mare simply stared at her, almost as if she didn’t understand that she had just destroyed another mare’s dreams; as if she hadn't just done the most horrible thing she could possibly do to crush her hopes.

Her mind just couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t believe the word that had just come from the captain's muzzle. Without intending to, she repeated the word. “Dismissed?”

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. You are hereby dismissed from the Wonderbolts.” The look Spitfire gave Rainbow told her that this wasn’t a joke; that the rest of the team wasn’t going to just pop out around the corner and yell ‘gotcha’.

Rainbow’s ears fell back and her eyes went wide. “But… I… why?” Her mind simply could not wrap itself around this. It was like a bad dream, a nightmare that she needed to wake up from.

“Ehm hmm.” Spitfire cleared her throat. “Insubordinate attitude, showboating, egomania, destroying the weather factory to prevent your… tortoise from hibernating?” She paused briefly, to look up at Rainbow Dash, still not quite believing that was all for a pet tortoise. “The list goes on, should I continue?” Spitfire paused to let out a sigh and rub her temple with her hoof. “Look, Rainbow, the fact is you’re an amazing flyer. But your attitude sucks. You’ve got a ton of potential, kid; but until you grow up there’s no place for you here. Without discipline and maturity, skill doesn’t matter, not on a team. You’re just not a good fit for the ‘Bolts, sorry.”

“But… but… no, you gotta give me another chance. I can change, I can do better, I can—” Rainbow fell to her knees, practically begging. Being in the Wonderbolts—being accepted into the organization—had been a dream come true. It was her life’s ambition.

To say that Spitfire wasn’t impressed would be to say that the sun only kinda warms up Equestria. “Rainbow, get up and get out.”

“No, I—”

“Rainbow, grow up, maybe then we’ll see about giving you another chance. But it won’t be for years with how immature you are.”

“I’m… immature…”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘duh’.

“I’m immature,” Rainbow repeated. Something inside of her head snapped at that accusation.

“Yes.”

She got to her hooves, tears were still falling from her eyes, but the resolve on her face spoke volumes to how she really felt. “Tell me, what’s maturity to you, captain?”

“Rai—”

“Because let’s go over what sort of maturity the Wonderbolts have shown. Let’s see, you reward ponies who place others’ lives at risk. You—rather incompetently—take on fully-grown dragons with three-pony teams. You stabbed your own teammate in the back in order to win a stupid game.” Rainbow relished the look on the captain’s face as she spoke.

“Rainbow!”

“Oh, I ain't done yet. Let’s see, you play favorites, the entire group is basically nothing but little cliques. Celestia forbid anypony doesn’t fit into one. The entire premise you work with is about what makes the team look good, not what the right thing to do is. Your VETERANS—those ponies the entire nation look up to—keep their records intact by framing newcomers! And then, when they do, it’s ‘prove your innocence or you’re getting kicked the buck out!’ Whatever happened to the burden of proof being on the accuser? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“Rainbow Dash!”

“No, as you said, I’m dismissed, that means I don’t have to listen to you anymore! Now you’re going to listen to me. I’ve turned a blind eye to everything, EVERYTHING that this organization’s done, thinking I might be able to change things from the inside. And now… now you’re just going to kick me out on some trumped up bull? Buck you, Spitfire! I don’t need this shit, you’re all horrible ponies that routinely stab each other in the back and have a culture of doing whatever it takes to get ahead!”

Spitfire deadpanned, “Are you done?”

The mare fumed. “You bet your ass I’m done. I’m done with you, I’m done looking up to this group, and I’m done with this whole bucking organization!”

“Then get out of my office.”

Rainbow turned around and left, slamming the door so hard she half expected it to shatter the glass. The mare quickly took flight, flying down the hall and out of the Wonderbolt’s Headquarters as fast as she could, not caring about the rainstorm she was about to fly into.

She just really hoped that nopony saw the tears in her eyes as she left.

***

Twilight paused for a minute and reflected on her situation. Her friends had always wondered why she didn’t take to the castle like they thought she would. And she had to give them the fact that, by all rights, it was an upgrade from the library. She now had more rooms, hallways, bathrooms, and balconies then she could shake a stick at.

Truly they wouldn’t understand, not really. It was the little things she missed the most. The little things like tonight. For tonight, it was raining.

That wasn’t unusual, it rained based on the schedule of ponyville’s weather team, exactly as planned. Rather, it was her favorite activity when it was raining: reading. She loved to read, come rain, snow, sleet, or hail. But when it was raining that was when she really loved to read. She loved to read then because of the sound of the rain outside. The pattern of the rain allowed her to fully immerse herself in the books, to truly take in the words and the wonderful knowledge those pages contained.

And at times like this, as she traveled from room to room in her new castle, those memories hurt the most. She was trying—and failing—to find a place that had the same sound as she had in the Golden Oaks Library.

“Gah, this room isn’t right either!” Twilight moaned as she checked over the spare bedroom for the spare bedroom of the spare bedroom.

“Twilight, would you just plop your flank somewhere?” Spike bemoaned from his perch on her back. The dragon was more than annoyed, her search was causing him to lose his place in his new comic.

“It’d go faster if you’d help!” Twilight yelled.

Spike sighed, loudly. “The only thing that you’ve told me is that you’re looking for a room that sounds like flick a flack fleck instead of flick a flick a flack.”

“Exactly!”

Spike rolled his eyes and buried his nose back in his comic.

“Spike don’t you know that rai—”

Twilight’s lecture on the soothing nature of raindrops and the effects of it on the brain’s chemistry was interrupted by a loud shout coming from the other end of the hallway. “TWILIGHT!”

That voice caused Spike to shoot up and jump off Twilight’s back. “Rarity’s here‽ I’m not dressed! I need to comb my scales!”

It’s was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes. She shouted out, “Over here, Rarity!”

“Twilight, you must do something, it’s the WORST THING EVER!”

“You heard her, Twilight!” Spike shouted. “Giddy-up! We’ve gotta get the gang together!”

Let me guess, she’s received salmon instead of pink cloth, again. Twilight shook her head clear of that thought. Whatever it was, however unimportant she thought it was, Rarity was a friend, and she’d be there for her friends in need regardless of how… petty she thought it was. After all, when helping a friend, it’s not about you, it’s about them.

Twilight knew that her initial thought about fabric colors was wrong when Rarity came into view. The white mare with the stylish indigo mane was a wreck. Her mane was sticking to her face, her tail had mud caked into it, and she was panting. All signs that she had ran straight here after learning whatever it was that caused her to be so upset.

“Twilight. Bad. Wonderbolts. Dismissed,” Rarity tried to say between deep breaths.

Blinking back her confusion, the alicorn approached her soaking-wet friend. “Uh… Rarity? What was that?”

“Twilight, I just heard some terrible news from some very important ponies in Canterlot. I just can’t believe that something like this would happen, oh the agony!” Out of nowhere a fainting couch appeared and Rarity fell backwards onto it, holding a hoof delicately to her forehead.

“Rarity, what are you talking about? What happened?”

“I don’t even know where to begin!”

“How about the beginning?” Twilight stated.

Rarity blinked twice as she contemplated that. Meanwhile Spike ran off to get her a towel. “Oh, yes, that makes sense. Well, you know my manager for the Canterlot Boutique?”

“Sassy Saddles? Yes.”

“Well, she overheard from Fleur de Lis at the local coffee shop—this delightful little quaint shop at the edge of Canterlot. They meet there every Tuesday to get together before they go to the spa. Well, her stallion, Fancy Pants, you remember him? The pony that is the cream of the crop of the Canterlot elite. Well, he was invited the day before to the Wonderbolt’s aftershow. There he overheard them talking about how they have plans to finally kick out the mare who’s making them all look bad.”

Twilight blinked twice. Rarity was speaking her language, she thought, it sounded like it anyway, but she couldn’t figure out what she was actually saying. “Rarity, what’s this got to do with… well, anything?”

Rarity huffed at that. “Rainbow Dash is that mare!”

Twilight pulled her muzzle back, almost as if she had been slapped. “Rarity, that’s ridiculous. Rainbow dash is an amazing flyer. The Wonderbolts would never kick her out.”

“Twilight, you don’t understand, I—”

“Rarity, this is just hearsay,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. “You’re talking about rumors heard from fourth sources. Are you sure it’s even Rainbow Dash they were talking about? I mean there are plenty of other ponies on the reserves.” For some reason it tugged at her heart to even hear the words ‘Rainbow’ and ‘kicked off the team’ together, even if it wasn’t confirmed.

It’s gotta be gossip, nothing more than horrible rumors. Twilight thought. I mean, Rainbow… she’d never get kicked out of the Wonderbolts, she’s too awesome, cool, and radical for that. No, it’s just a rumor, nothing more.

“Rarity, I got you a towel!” Spike shouted as he ran up to the two mares.

“Twilight, I’m telling you—” The white mare found herself cut off again as a very rude burp came from the small purple dragon, “Spike, it’s rude to burp in front of a lady.”

“Sorry,” Spike said as his burp coalesced into a letter that fell to their hooves.

Rarity saw the letter as she magically lifted one of the towels from Spike’s claws to dry herself off. Twilight dropped her gaze to the scroll, her thoughts momentarily paused and were replaced with curiosity of what her former mentor could need. “Huh, I wonder what Princess Celestia wants?” At that she raised the letter to eye level and unrolled it with her magic.

She cleared her throat and read aloud:

My Dearest Twilight,

I wish the day would come in which I could write to you with good news. Sadly, today’s not that day. I’m writing to inform you of an unfortunate event that I have just been informed of. Citing her recent behavior, the Wonderbolts have just expelled your dear friend, Rainbow Dash from the Reserves.

It’s no secret that the Wonderbolts were Rainbow Dash’s dream. Twilight, I know first-hoof just how stubborn she can be, but at a time like this, she’s going to need your support, and your friendship.

If there’s anything I can do, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask,

Princess Celestia.

“It’s… it’s true…” Twilight’s muzzle hung open. “This can’t be true. How can they do this! Why did they do this?”

“No… they can’t have kicked out Rainbow!” Spike said with tears in his eyes.

“Twilight, we’ve got to do something!” Rarity exclaimed.

Twilight looked up at her. She felt her stomach drop and her throat dry out in shock, the news really was the worst possible thing. The alicorn wanted to puke, she wanted to just throw up right then and there. It was painful, heartbreaking even.

How could this happen to Rainbow? It’s not right, it’s unfair… Rainbow Dash, she’s gotta be...

Twilight felt like her heart wanted to rip out of her chest at the thought her friend so hurting.

She’s all by herself, she’s gotta be lost and hurting, she needs me… us.

A thunderclap from far off reminded her that ‘us’ wasn’t really possible in this storm. It’d take all her luck just to find Rainbow in this weather. Spike crying by their side also reminded her of another responsibility she couldn’t just leave unattended.

The words came unbidden. “I need you to stay and watch Spike. I got to go find Rainbow.”

“By yourself? In this rain?”

“She needs a friend, Rarity. And I have the best chance of locating her, but I can’t go if I’m worried about Spike. And I can’t take him with, he’d get sick.” As if to illustrate the point that she had the best chance of finding her, Twilight flexed her wings and powered her horn. “Also, you know how she is, if we all showed up, she’d just put on a show. One-on-one, I might be able to reach her... to help her.”

“Twilight, please, find her,” Rarity said as she picked up the little crying dragon in her hooves.

“You can count on that.” At those words, Twilight teleported out of the castle and into the rainstorm.

In a flash of purple magic, a lavender alicorn appeared in the skies of Ponyville. Twilight instantly squinted her eyes and braced herself against the wind and the rain. In a matter of seconds she was soaking wet, her coat and mane pressed flat against her body.

She forced herself to fight against it, to brace against the wind and the rain. Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated, readying every detection and tracking spell she knew, all in search of her heart-broken friend.

Rainbow Dash, where are you?

The spells required her to focus, to concentrate on who she was looking for. As she cast them, Twilight thought of her first meeting with Rainbow—of Rainbow crashing into her and sending them both into a rogue mud puddle, then performing her patented Rain-Blow Dry to undo the damage. Dash’s boastful laughter at the sight of Twilight’s new manedo echoed through her head.

The memory almost caused her to smile, almost. Concern for the pegasus now outweighed the warmth the memory gave her from the past.

It was then that Twilight felt a strong pull of her magic. “Rainbow, I’m coming!” Twilight shouted as she flew at full speed to the southwest. She closed her eyes and relied only on her senses, just as Rainbow Dash had taught her when she was learning to fly. The going was rough, she had a headwind that was actively trying to push her back the other way.

C’mon, Twilight! You really gotta flap em hard! Memories of their times flying together ran through her head. She pushed herself as hard as she could, as fast as she could, her eyes glued shut from the rain, simply relying on the spell to lead her the correct way.

The alicorn’s path took her past the boundaries of Ponyville. She felt the pull of the spell growing stronger and stronger the further she got from the town. It felt as if it was pulling her body and her heart at the same time; until, at last, she felt the pull coming not from in front of her, but from below her.

Twilight stopped flying forward and rubbed her eyes clear of the rain as she looked straight down. There, at the edge of Ghastly Gorge, sat a small, shivering, cyan-blue pegasus.

Rainbow no, don’t! Twilight thought, her mind going to the worst place it could.

In a pop of magic, the alicorn teleported right down to the ground. “Rainbow! Don’t do it!”

Noticing immediately that she was no longer alone, Rainbow Dash looked up from her spot on the ground. She was startled at the sight of a drenched purple alicorn with a horrified expression on her face. “Twilight? What are you doing here? Don’t do what?”

“Jump!”

Rainbow looked at her friend, her brow furrowing in confusion,before deciding to test it by doing just that. She jumped off the ledge and flew in a small circle before landing right back in the spot. “Why not?”

Twilight looked at her confused, “So wait... you’re not here to…”

“To…?”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, “Nevermind, just egghead me, overreacting.” She chuckled, then stopped at the expression on Rainbow’s face.

“Riiigghhht… So what are you doing here anyways? Can’t you see it’s pouring rain?” Rainbow gestured to the sky with a hoof before shivering violently due to the cold.

Twilight slowly walked up until she was three hoves away from her friend. “I… um, I heard about what happened.”

Rainbow’s expression immediately turned cold, her mouth dipping into a angry scowl. “You heard about me losing my spot on the greatest flying team there is? Great… just great.”

The soaked alicorn sat back on her haunches and wrapped her tail around her hooves. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

“Sorry won’t get me back on the team, Twilight. Why do you even care? You get to—” She bit her tongue to stop her venomous rant.

“Why wouldn’t I care, Rainbow? You’re my friend.”

“Give it up, Twilight. Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean you can just waltz over here and make it all better. I’ve officially screwed up so bad that there’s no coming back from this.”

“But, why‽ Why did they kick you out?”

Rainbow barked out a laugh before standing up and getting nose to nose with the alicorn. “Guess.”

“I… I…” Insubordination, bad attitude, mouthing off to superior officers, wanton destruction of the weather factory, showboating, ego mania, and not being a team player? “But I… but you’re a hero, Rainbow!”

“A hero?” Tears built up in the pegasus’s eyes as she whispered the word. “So when you all dressed up as Mare Do Well to teach me a lesson, was that you acknowledging that I was a hero?”

“Rainbow, that was just to try and teach you some humility.”

Rainbow stepped back as if Twilight had hit her. It still hurt even now to realize that her friends had a laugh behind her back about her tendency to over-celebrate herself. “Just like the Wonderbolts did. Rather than just bucking talking to me, you stabbed me in the back and made me feel worse than I ever have in my life.”

“We didn’t—”

“Shut up, Twilight! Just stop. I don’t want to hear your excuses. Just leave me alone.” She turned back to the gorge, the storm’s tears biting into her; fusing with her own that were dripping down her muzzle.

The rain did an excellent job washing away everything it touched, but not before Twilight saw the tears falling down Rainbow’s face. We did hurt her… didn’t we? She felt her own tears falling as well.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“You know the only difference between what they did and what you did?”

The sobbing pegasus’s words were like daggers stabbing in the alicorn's heart. But she didn’t answer. She knew the question was rhetorical.

“I never considered the ‘Bolts my best friends. They killed my dream, but at least they didn’t twist the knife.”

“Y-you want me to leave?” Twilight asked, hurt and horrified at the hate Rainbow directed her way. Did she really feel that bad about what we did? We were just trying to help. Why didn’t she say something before?

“Wow, the egghead gets it in one. Shocker.”

Twilight turned to do just that. She pulled her muzzle away from Rainbow and started to walk away. Every step hurt; it physically hurt her. When she got ten hooves away she looked back one time to see the pegasus staring down into the gorge, her form looked so small and frail. Her wings were loose at her sides, feathers dropping in the rain, and her ears laid back, flat atop her head.

“No.”

“What?” Rainbow mumbled, not looking up.

“No, this isn’t about me. It’s about you. And I’m not leaving my friend like this.” I’d never be able to live with myself if I did.

“Twilight, enough. Can’t you see that I want to be alone,” she sniffled before snidely saying, “with my immaturity.”

“Who said you were immature‽” Other than me, those six… seven times? Twilight flinched at her own thoughts.

“Who cares‽ Isn’t it true?”

“No, it’s not!” Twilight shouted as she walked up to Rainbow. “You’ve helped saved Equestria! You taught me how to fly!”

Rainbow got back to her hooves, glaring at the princess. “And‽ So did our other friends and they didn’t lose everything! And what about you! You get to be all high and mighty sitting on your throne while the rest of us have—”

Twilight was taken aback by that. “I’m not high and mighty and I don’t just sit on my throne!”

“Oh excuse me, I meant to say ‘get to wander around and whine about how lonely and big your castle is’. Please Twilight, don’t even pretend to understand what I’m going through.” Dash mimicked a high pitched voice before rolling her eyes.

“Then TELL ME! Stop trying to drive me away and let me help! Please…” Please, I can’t bear to see you like this. Twilight’s own tears were falling freely.

Rainbow stared at her friend. While her expression gave away nothing, her eyes told an entire tale of pain and sadness, of loss and regret. Tears were fighting their way out, only hidden by the rain that continued to fall down around them.

Twilight saw the look on Rainbow’s face. The dichotomy of emotions there. Rainbow wanted to tell. She needed to tell, but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t drop her persona, not even for this. With no options remaining, the alicorn all but lunged forward and wrapped the pegasus in a hug. She pulled Rainbow to her chest and squeezed. Feeling for the first time that night just how cold, how wet Rainbow was. “Please, please help me help you. Please let me help you.”

“Why Twilight? Why can’t you just let it go?” Rainbow tried to push the alicorn away, only to be forced closer.

“Because letting it go would mean letting you go. And I’d rather lose my horn than lose you.”

Rainbow’s mouth worked overtime, trying to form words her brain couldn’t process. Why is Twilight doing this? Why won’t she let me be? Why is she hurting as much as me? The tears finally slipped free from their prison, accompanied by a cry of pain leaving the pegasus’s mouth. Her hooves wrapped tightly around the alicorn holding her as she buried her face into the alicorn’s lavender fur.

Twilight felt it like a dam bursting. She squeezed Rainbow even tighter as she wrapped her wings around the mare, letting her cry out into her chest. The alicorn didn’t say a word, for despite her voluptuous vocabulary, she simply couldn’t think of one to say. She simply said nothing and stroked the mare’s mane. Seeking to calm her friend down. She could almost feel her heart breaking for her friend.

Rainbow…

Rainbow continued to cry, small whimpers of her pain vocally leaving her muzzle in the quiet of the outside world. She had never felt this way before. Usually she bottled her emotions until they simply disappeared or were replaced with something to keep her mind from wandering back to them. This was different though. This was everything she wanted being taken away with no promise of return. There was nothing that could compare to the Wonderbolts in her mind, and there never would be anything as awesome ever again.

“Why?”

The question came out like a squeak, a sound that would’ve been more fitting coming from Fluttershy. It took Twilight a moment to even process that she had heard it. “Rainbow?”

“Why am I so worthless?”

“Rainbow! You’re not worthless!”

“They don’t want me Twi, and you worked so hard to help me. I just… I just wasn’t good enough.”

“Rainbow, you’re the best flyer I’ve ever seen, that CELESTIA has ever seen! You’re more than good enough and if they can’t see that, it’s their loss.”

“No, I’ve been lying to myself, I’m not the best of anything. Daring Do saw it, the Wonderbolts saw it, and you’ll all see it too... one day. I just... just—”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed as she pulled the mare away from her chest. The alicorn was angry, but it was wasted anger. Rainbow couldn’t even bring herself to raise her head. “Who the hay do you think you’re describing‽”

Rainbow just looked at her friend, she couldn’t understand why Twilight was pushing this so hard. “Me, duh.”

“Really? Because you were right there by my side when we faced down Nightmare Moon to stop her eternal darkness! You were the one that accomplished the legendary sonic rainboom to save Rarity and win the Best Young Flyer competition.”

“Only took me years to recreate it.”

“So what? Name me one other flyer that can do it! Just one!”

“I—” Rainbow bit her lip and avoided her friends eyes. “So? It’s not even that big of a deal. It’s ONE achievement that I just duplicated from my fillyhood. I peaked then, and I’ve just been trying to relive my glory days ever since.”

“So? You know what I did as a filly? Age spells! Prison spells! Transformation spells! I can’t even do some of those now as an alicorn!”

“Twilight, who cares? You’re a princess. You won’t have to ever do anything ever again and ponies will still be cheering your name just at the sight of you. Not like me, the Wonderbolts were my chance to show the world that I’m not just some has-been or one-trick pony. Do you know the entire time I was in the academy, not once did they want to see the rainboom. I had to fight my way just to even show Spitfire what I had! Now look where I am…”

“A member of the Princess of Friendship's trusted counsel? A hero of Equestria?”

“Twilight, when was the last time Equestria needed us? What do we do when we aren’t saving the world? Applejack has her farm, Pinkie the shop and Cakes, Rarity just opened that new place in Canterlot! What about me, Twi? I’ve messed everything up. Without the ‘Bolts, without my dream, I’m worthless...”

“Why do you only see your value through your heros, Rainbow? You have value beyond the ‘Bolts. To me, and all of our friends.”

“What am I without you, Twilight? Without the Princess of Friendship or our other friends? You keep bringing up that I’m a hero but that’s because we’re all together. Even you have your own thing now too!”

“Only because of you girls! If it weren't for all of you I’d still just a shut-in bookworm. You’ve helped me more than you can ever realize. You all have.” Rainbow’s casual dismissal of herself hurt Twilight, and her mentioning of the title the alicorn now had also began to poke at cracks in her own armor.

“That’s great for you, Twi… I’m real glad we made your life better. I just have to figure out what to do with mine.”

“Rainbow Dash.” Twilight’s tone caused the mare to look up into the alicorn’s eyes. The first time that night she had really looked at her. “If you can’t see your own self-worth, you truly are a blind mare.” Twilight’s heart felt like stone at just how badly Rainbow had been talking about herself.

Rainbow blinked, there was something off about the way Twilight spoke. Almost as if the mare was as broken as she was, which was impossible. Twilight Sparkle had everything she could dream of, and more beyond that.

When Rainbow didn’t reply, Twilight’s posture slumped. “You want to know who you are without me? I ask myself every day who I’d be without all of you.”

“You’d still be Princess Celestia’s student, and we’d all still be living our own separate lives instead of being friends.” Rainbow’s teeth clenched and her heart broke at the thought of going back to how it was before the studious pony had arrived in Ponyville.

Twilight closed her eyes and lowered her head. She spoke the next words softly, as if she were ashamed to say them. The rainstorm seemed to sense this as it picked that moment to start letting up. “I cry sometimes when I think about how I used to live before I met all of you.” She could feel the stone around her heart start to crack at that confession.

Rainbow’s face contorted with confusion. “Why do you cry? I thought you loved being Celestia’s student.”

“I-I, I do. I did. I mean, I thought I did. Rainbow, I didn’t know any other way. I didn’t know what it meant to have ponies like you in my life. I didn’t know what I didn’t have. Now… now that I do, that life…” Her voice cracking and trailed off at the end.

“That’s how I feel about the Wonderbolts, except now… it’s all gone, Twi; and I’ll never get it back.” Tears started to form again but Rainbow quickly wiped them away with her forehoof.

“Really?” Twilight asked in a disbelieving tone, lifting her head to look at her friend.

Rainbow looked up, “What do you mean?”

“It was a dream you chased after, Rainbow. It was a goal you sought because you thought you wanted it. But let me ask, when it was just us, when you were with all of us. Were you happy?”

“Of course.”

“So what’s different now?”

“I lost my dream!”

“So? Make a new one.“ Twilight’s tone was one of confidence, with no doubt to muddle it up. “The way I see it, if they’re so blind, so full of themselves they’d kick you out, you’re better off without them!”

“Nice words, Twilight; but that’s all they are: words. They kicked me out because they saw the true me, the me that I’ve never accepted.”

Twilight confessed something she had never told anypony else. “You mean the you I try to copy?”

“Copy?” Rainbow looked at her friend incredulously. “Yeah right, Twi; you’ve always done everything opposite of me. Even now, you’re fighting me on this.”

Twilight’s gaze looked up at her. “I’ve never… I’ve never told anypony this, but whenever I’m in a jam, whenever things look bad, you know what I ask myself? I ask: “What would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do?””

“Brave pony? Twi, I’m not brave. I’m just… just stupid.” Rainbow glared at the ground between her hooves.

Twilight lowered her head and met Rainbow’s eyes. Her glare met Rainbow’s magenta eyes and forced her to raise her head, if just to get the lavender muzzle out of her face. “You, Rainbow Dash, you’re the bravest pony I’ve ever met in my life. You’re my opposite, everything I wish I could be, everything I seek to emulate in my own life.”

Rainbow’s scowl returned with a vengeance. She then blinked and looked around before leaning in. “Uh… what does emulate mean?”

“It means I try to live my life copying your example.” A smile graced the alicorn’s muzzle, her eyes softening as she gazed at her friend.

“I thought you were supposed to be smart, egghead. Why would you want to copy a loser pony like me?”

“Because you’re not afraid. You do what you want when you want, knowing that you’ll be alright regardless of the circumstances.” Twilight paused before continuing. “Rainbow, we were wrong to do what we did to you. You’re not a showboat, well, not a total showboat. You have the skills to back up everything you say.” She blushed before saying the last part, her eyes drifting to the side before looking back at her friend, “In truth, I’ve always been jealous of that. The way you live your life, it’s how I want to live mine.”

“Twilight I—“ Rainbow choked on her words. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Why would anyone want to be like me? Especially now that I’ve lost everything I worked so hard for; all because I couldn’t keep my trap shut.

Taking a deep breath of confidence, Twilight leaned forward to nuzzle her companion in a slightly more-than-friends gesture that just seemed appropriate. Her actions were more than welcome, and even reciprocated, to a point. “W-what do I do now? I lost my dream.”

At that, Twilight felt the last bits of the stone around her heart shatter. The two were so alike, and yet… so different. “I can’t even answer that question for myself, Rainbow.”

“What do you mean? You’re always so knowledgeable of everything” The pegasus chuckled, before hesitantly pulling the alicorn closer. What am I doing? What is she doing? What’s going on here?

“I never wanted to be a princess. I never wanted to rule, to be in charge, to be responsible for others. I wanted to be a great scholar. I wanted to be like Starswirl the Bearded. This… this took that from me.” There was noticeable sorrow in her voice. A sigh of contentment left her muzzle as she comfortably leaned into the pegasus holding her.

Rainbow Dash sucked in a breath. It had never occurred to her that Twilight’s life had indeed taken a drastic change. But was it for the best?Equestria may be safer with a fourth princess around, but what about Twilight’s dream? Twilight worked so hard at making sure her friends were happy, but what about herself? Even now she’s so concerned with helping me that she just told me her own secrets. “Twilight, I had no idea…”

“You… you all became my new dream. I just want to be with you girls now. I do this ‘princess junk’ because it’s expected, but my thoughts, they’re always with you girls.” Her voice took note of the small, sad smile at the end of her statement.

“That’s stupid.”

“What‽” Twilight's head jerked up to stare at her friend, wide-eyed.

“What about you, Twilight? What do you want for you?” Rainbow’s expression no longer held anger at herself or the Wonderbolts, but now at the alicorn herself.

“I-I, um… I…” She blushed, her gaze drifting to the side as she pawed at the ground with her hoof.

“You don’t even know, do you? Your life’s already done, you think you have everything so it’s just what? Coast on this until you die? Don’t you want to do something? Don’t you want to achieve something?” The pegasus’s gaze softened, her eyes no longer held pain for herself, but for the ever so there pony who was too caring for her own good.

“We do stuff all the time!” Twilight’s cheeks puffed up with aggravation. This wasn’t supposed to be about me, this is supposed to be about you, featherbrain! Stop worrying about me.

“No, we face threats, we react to dangers when they present themselves. I may not be the egghead you are, but even I know there’s a difference. Don’t you want to, I don’t know, have your own life? Something that’s yours? Maybe even meet somepony special one day?”

Twilight paused. She had never considered that. Her path was chosen already, what did she strive to achieve, what did she hope to achieve? And why was that annoying grin back on Rainbow’s face? “I, umm…” She blushed. “I don’t know.” Do I want to meet somepony special one day? Maybe somepony like me? Maybe somepony who… Her eyes looked up at Rainbow. Somepony who makes me better? Who challenges me? Somepony I seek to… emulate?

“So what do we do now, Twi? Neither of us have anything to look forward to in the future.”

“I do.” A smile softly graced Twilight’s lips as her eyes shone brightly.

“What?”

“Being with you girls. I look forward to that every day.” Especially being with you.

Rainbow ran her hoof through her wet mane. “Celestia, you’re too smart for your own good. I meant metaphysically or whatever.”

“Metaphorically?”

“Yeah, that. In ten years, what do you want to do? Twenty? Fifty?”

“I don’t know.”

“Exactly.” Rainbow stated.

Both mares looked down at that, twin sighs echoing each other. Twilight’s mind was working overtime on trying to answer the problem, she just couldn’t. However, it did catch on to one thing. Right this second, right at that moment, Rainbow Dash was almost her mirror opposite. I’m… emulating her. Or is she emulating me?

She’s like me, just on the opposite end of the same spectrum. We might not be able to solve these problems alone, or for each other, but maybe we could to—

A blush lit the alicorn’s cheek as the thought brushed against her mind. She didn’t know how Rainbow Dash might react to the idea, but asking never hurt anypony.

“Maybe… um…”

“Spit it out, egghead” Rainbow said with a sad chuckle.

“Maybe we could figure it out, together?”

“Together?” Dash looked up at Twilight, confused.

“I don’t know what my dream is anymore. I had mine taken from me. You… you had yours snatched from you too. Maybe… maybe we can help each other find new ones?”

“A new one, huh?” Rainbow smiled. “Together.”

Twilight swallowed softly, nodding. “Uh... uh-huh.”

“... Okay. Let’s do it together.” Rainbow smiled.

Twilight smiled back, and, once again, embraced her friend. Rainbow didn’t even fight, she didn’t pull back, as she simply didn’t feel the need--even if it was a bit uncool. She was cold, wet, and hungry. She had been lost that night, she had simply been waiting to give up, and now… now Twi, the adorkable egghead, she wanted her help, and she felt… warm.

For the first time in her life. Twilight’s mind quit talking to her. She simply hugged Rainbow with all her might. The pegasus’s muzzle was nuzzling into the nape of her neck, and she responded in kind. The alicorn felt her heart pounding away in her chest, she felt the warmth, the kindness and the strength of the mare in her hooves. She also felt the weakness, the loss Rainbow had so recently suffered. For the entire time she had known the cyan pegasus, the Wonderbolts had always been the most important thing in her life. Now there was a void, which hopefully, together, they could find a way to fill. It was all so much, too much. The former librarian-turned-princess had no basis for such feelings, she had no idea how to process them so she didn’t even try. She simply asked herself one question, What would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do? Then, when she was confident in her answer, she let her heart do what it wanted, what it needed to do.

When they at last pulled back, the storm started to break as the pegasi began moving the clouds out of the sky. One of which, once moved, allowed the sun to shine down on both pegasus and alicorn.

A little more world-weary than Twilight, Rainbow recognized that look on the alicorn’s face. She nervously rubbed the back of her head again. “Twi, I um… I’m not sure this is a good idea right now. I—”

She was silenced with a kiss. Without thinking—thinking was simply beyond her right now—Twilight leaned forward and pressed her lips to her friend’s. The pegasus told herself to be shocked by it, that she should pull away and say no, she just couldn’t. It felt… it felt… it felt right.

When Twilight pulled back, all she saw was the look of bliss on her friend’s face. “What would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do?”

Rainbow softly smiled and leaned in for another kiss. When they broke apart, she kept her forehead resting on her friend’s. “She’d do that.”

“You know how I know you’re the best of the best, Rainbow?”

“How?”

“Because who else would a princess want to be with?”

Rainbow smiled at that before realizing something. “Maybe I have a new goal after all?”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I mean if I want to stay worthy of you, I gotta stay the best of the best, no?”

“I guess that’s true. You’re off to a great start at least. There’s just one thing more you need to do.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

Twilight cocked Rainbow’s cocky sharp-tooth grin before pushing forward to press her lips back against the pegasus’s.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Now that I think about it, there is one thing you could do for me. Please tell the Wonderbolts, from me, Princess Twilight Sparkle, to go buck themselves. Their loss is my gain.

Sincerely,
Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her awesome, better-than-all-of-them-combined, marefriend, Rainbow Dash.

PS. Tell Cadance I need to talk to her soon. I think it’s about time I take her up on some other lessons.