The storm had hit strongly, and took them all off guard. Rainbow Dash, being the lead flyer to Griffonstone, had been the first to quickly rush to Celestia's side when the storm began. But she was too late. A bolt of lightning had hit Celestia's air carriage and, in the process, her front leg. Celestia had fallen from her carriage, but she quickly flew up to the rainbow-maned pegaus, as she was the easiest to see. It didn't take long for the storm to become stronger and stronger. Celestia knew many spells to repel clouds and storms, but this was unlike any she had ever seen. They were outside of Equestria. No one controlled this weather. It was wild and untamed. Eventually, the rest of the guard was lost in the sky, nowhere to be seen. Rainbow Dash forced the princess to leave the area, despite Celestia being strongly against leaving the rest behind.
"Your safety comes first, Princess. Don't argue with me, just do as I say!" Rainbow Dash demanded, practically pushing Celestia as she flew away with her. Celestia chose not to argue back against her best general, instead flying as fast as she could away from the cloudy sky. "We need to get to the ground, quickly!" Celestia could barely see Rainbow Dash behind her as she tried to make it through the heavy winds. Rainbow Dash had always been an excellent flyer, but she was never very good at handling strong winds with her small wings. Celestia on the other hand, flew through swiftly, her large wings helping her body move faster through the rain. Celestia's full attention was on the ground, which she was reaching at fast speed. She came to a sudden stop when she heard a scream from Rainbow Dash. Celestia looked in Rainbow Dash's direction in a panic. Rainbow Dash was falling, and fast. With a trail of smoke behind her.
"Rainbow Dash!" Celestia screamed, quickly flying after the pegasus and catching her in her arms. Rainbow Dash coughed, shaking her head. She tried to move her wings, but quickly winced in pain. "Oh dear....are you alright?" Celestia asked, her voice full with concern. Rainbow dash smiled cockily, scoffing.
"Please, it's me. I can handle anyth-" She accidentally moved her wing again, and hissed. "I....I'm sure I'll be fine, Princess. Let's just get to the ground, fast." Celestia quickly put Rainbow Dash on her back and flew down to the forest beneath them. Rainbow Dash hopped off of Celestia's back, scanning the terrain. Her gaze quickly met Celestia's leg.
"We need to find shelter and bandage that-" A loud roar interrupted her sentence and the both looked in the direction of the disturbance. A large bear began to walk towards them. Celestia was about to speak before Rainbow Dash rushed forward. "Stay behind me, Princess!" She quickly whipped out a knife from her side and charged full speed at the bear. She was swiftly hit across the face and fell back to the ground at Celestia's feet.
"Rainbow Dash!" Celestia panicked, staring at the fallen pegasus and then he bear. Her horn illuminated as she carried the animal in the air and levitated it away from them, far off into the woods. "Perhaps not the best thing to do...but it works I suppose." Her sight reached Rainbow Dash and she knelt down to check on her. "Rainbow Dash, are you alright?" The pegaus coughed, a pained frown on her face. She groaned.
"It's like I didn't learn anything from Fluttershy....jeez." Celestia helped Rainbow Dash up as they walked through the wet forest.
"Will you be okay?" Celestia questioned if Rainbow Dash was actually going to be alright or if Rainbow Dash was just shrugging off pain she was really in.
"...Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine." Rainbow Dash frowned, upset that she couldn't properly protect the princess. The two continued walking until they stumbled across a cave and made their way inside. Rainbow Dash frowned, scowling the outside as she placed her hoof underneath Celestia's. "We're gonna have to wait it out in here."
"Rainbow Dash, is something wrong?" She asked, her magenta eyes staring with worry.
"No, I just...I'm kinda angry at myself." Rainbow Dash grumbled, sitting down next to the princess, her face full of disappointment.
"Why?" Celestia asked, genuinely surprised that the cocky Rainbow Dash could ever be mad at herself.
"Because I couldn't simply protect you against a bear. A bear for crying out loud!" Rainbow yelled standing up once more, her loud voice echoing in the cave. Celestia was taken by surprise by the sudden outburst, but swiftly responded with kindness.
"That's not your fault. You're injured. If you could properly fly you-"
"But I wasn't able to fly! I should be compatible with situations like these! It's my job to protect you! And I couldn't even do that!" Rainbow Dash screamed, slight tears forming in her eyes. She quickly realized she yelled at the Princess of Equestria and sat down again, refusing to look at the alicorn. Celestia sighed, unsure of what to say. Silence surrounded them both for what seemed like hours, when it was truly a few seconds. Celestia felt selfish for what she was about to say, but she had never spoken about it and hearing Rainbow Dash complain about something so small, pushed her off the edge.
"Rainbow Dash. I am an alicorn of Equestria. A know thousands of spells. I can raise the sun, for Faust sake. But I couldn't protect the rest of my guard from a storm. From Nightmare Moon. From Chrysalis, or Discord, or anyone else that has decided to...to..." Celestia groaned as Rainbow Dash looked at her with concern. "I'm a failure as a Princess. I had my own student deal with the problems I should have been able to fix. I look at my subjects and I see them with friends and happy....I can't even say I have friends. I have a sister that I appreciate with all my heart, a student I admire greatly...." Celestia looked over at Rainbow Dash. "A guard that I couldn't be more proud of. But nonetheless....all these ponies have so many friends. I don't even have what I promote my society to have. I constantly feel....alone. So yes, Rainbow Dash, maybe you couldn't protect me. But that was understandable. I can't protect my own citizens and country." Rainbow Dash was shocked by the alicorn's words, as she swiftly coughed and wore a serious expression.
"Princess, stop it." Rainbow Dash ordered.
"Why should I?" Celestia responded bitterly, without realizing it was unintentional.
"I'm going to tell you everything you won't do." Rainbow Dash spoke firmly as she moved closer to the princess.
"And what is that?" Celestia asked sarcastically until Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof to Celestia's face, forcing her to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes.
"What you won't do is sell yourself short, Celestia. What you won't do is believe there's no one out there for you. What you won't do is think that you're alone. Because you're wrong. I'm here. And you're stuck with me for a while because I decided to join the guard." Rainbow Dash winked, causing Celestia to smile, wiping her tears away. Rainbow Dash pulled out a bandage from her saddlebag and quickly wrapped Celestia's leg. "It's not much, but hopefully it helps."
"Thank you..." Celestia spoke softly as she watched the pegasus tie the bandage. A question quickly arose in Celestia's mind. "Why did you join the guard, Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked, her voice in a dull tone. Rainbow Dash was surprised by the question as she calmly removed her helmet.
"Well...I suppose it started when I was banned from the Wonderbolts. That was my lifelong dream. It was my ambition. The drive that kept me going to become better and better every day. And then I got in! I became a Wonderbolt! And everyday I was still filled with the same drive, but in a different way. To keep myself there. To make everypony proud. Then...I made a mistake and....and..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "And I was left with a slight....emptiness. I wasn't sure what else to do with my life. Flying was who I was! I spoke to my friends about it and well....Twilight suggested the guard. It had flight training in it's own way, and was much tougher on me than the Wonderbolts. It definitely pushed me in ways I never thought I would be. Emotionally and physically. But....it was worth it." Celestia's ears perked up in curiosity.
"Oh? How so?" Celestia stared at Rainbow Dash as the pegasus thought before smirking at the princess.
"Because I never would've been the personal guard for the most beautiful princess in Equestria~." Celestia was quickly flustered and turned away from Rainbow Dash as the cyan mare chuckled. "In all seriousness- It was worth it because it made me see a part of me I never knew I had. Granted I was awesome before, but now I could truly protect my friends and family...protect the ones I love." Rainbow Dash sat down, placing her head on Celestia's shoulder. Celestia quickly lit her horn and casted a fire in front of them with a genuine smile. The rain continued to pour.
"This is...nice." Celestia smiled, rubbing against Rainbow Dash's mane.
"Yeah...it is.