Empire of Mercy

by Daelyx Len Auphydas

Rating: teen
Tags: Violence, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Princess Luna, Drama, Original Character, Mystery, Spike
Length: 70936

In ages past, Equestria's name struck terror into the hearts of its enemies. Celestia willing, in this new era of blood and war... it will once again

In the modern era, it has become common for foreigners to mock Equestria, seeing the pony nation as weak, naive, unwilling to commit to hard decisions. More belligerent neighbors often view the ponies as easy prey or targets, to have their magic stolen, to be devoured and pillaged, or conquered as a ready supply of slaves.

It was not always thus. In ages past, Equestria was a land of heroes and legends, of darkness and bloodshed. In time, the princesses learned to temper strength with mercy, power with forbearance, and righteous conviction with benevolence.

But now, a thousand years after the younger princess was banished to the moon, the long peace is drawing to a close. Forces both within and without Equestria awaken, seeing a nation weak and easily toppled. Seeing a people grown fat on peace and luxury, who have long forgotten the hardships of war and conflict, or the glory of bloodshed.

Woe betide to all who come to Equestria with ill intent. For in all these long years of peace, the Princess of the Sun has never forgotten the lessons of war, and her eyes watch over her beloved subjects with not only patience and understanding, but an implicit promise of protection.

The time will come soon, when those who would do Celestia's Little Ponies wrong will come to learn... That even an Empire of Mercy is still paved upon the bones of its enemies.

[...]
Alternate universe story based on two main principals: First, that Rainbow Dash is taken in as Celestia's student in addition to Twilight. Second, that the threats to Equestria are both larger in magnitude, but also countered by a more competent and militarized Equestria. Also, it will follow my headcanon that alicorn's are gender neutral.

It is also somewhat based on my love of story threads that are disconnected but still intersect. The continuity will not really have a single group of main characters (Though it will start with mostly Rainbow Dash and Celestia), but rather a number of different story threads playing out simultaneously across the world. I have plans for the Mane Six, Celestia, Luna, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and a number of OC's at the least.

I will be posting every 14 days on thursdays, at least for the time being. Story is in present tense, third person. Genre will kinda be all over the place, parts of the story will include the whole spectrum from war story to slice of life to drama to who knows what else.

Published 2024-04-27 14:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-06 16:45:42 UTC

Celestial Summons

Celestia glides high above the land, even above the cloud layer, surveying their domain as they drift on thermals. Although they departed Canterlot with little fanfare and elected to travel without escort, they can still detect a fair number of ponies pointing them out and gathering to watch the monarch as they gently flap their wings. The princess's visage is iconic and distinctive enough that even from a substantial distance, they are quite recognizable.

Celestia smiles imperceptibly, as they think about those on the ground, imagining the conversations as they would question whether they had really seen the Princess of the Sun. But as they fly, the sight of Equestrian civilization gives way to the wild, and that smile disappears. Beneath them now is the Everfree forest.

Celestia can't help but gaze northwards to the castle poking out of the immense forest with a twinge of pain. It has been years since they had last seen it, and centuries since they had visited. Patience. Celestia thinks, steeling themself to present the calm and regal princess that their subjects expect. You've waited centuries; you can wait another hooffull of years.

Celestia puts those thoughts from their mind and focuses on the task at hoof. Flapping their wings harder, they pick up speed. For most of their reign, the vicinity of the Everfree Forest has been completely deserted, the subject of dark rumor and superstition. But now, there is a small village on the edge of the Everfree, named Ponyville. A village that, to the princess, is practically brand new. It’s by far the closest anypony had gotten to the monarch's old home since that fateful night nearly a millennium ago.

But that village is not their destination. Rather, a far older and more familiar city is. Floating above Ponyville is the pegasus capital of Cloudsdale, performing its typical weather service for the agrarian settlement below.

Banking in flight, Celestia wheels around the cloud city before gliding down to a landing at trotting speed on a plaza near the Wonderbolts academy. The ponies around show the typical deferential, awed expressions that Celestia is used to seeing, magnified by surprise at the princess’s visit. Folding their wings up, Celestia strides up to the guardpony on duty; the Wonderbolts are technically military personnel after all, so their compound is always under watch.

"Y-y-your highness!" The nervous guardspony gulps and lowers his head in a steep bow. Celestia takes the panicked reaction in stride and smiles at him reassuringly.

"At ease, guardspony. May I know your name?" Celestia asks, cordially. A millennium of reigning alone had given them plenty of practice with how to set ponies around them at ease; in their experience, the excessive formality that most ponies outside of Canterlot treated them with was counterproductive to getting to the heart of matters.

"U-um, I'm Blizzard Feather." The pegasus certainly looks the part, with his blue coat and white wingtips. Celestia nods encouragingly.

"Well, Blizzard Feather, it is a pleasure to meet you." Celestia smiles at their subject warmly. Though this is essentially padding to get to the point, they aren't lying; Any day they are able to leave court at Canterlot and see their subjects going about their daily lives is a good day, as far as Celestia is concerned. "Perhaps you can help me with something. There was recently a magical surge over half of Equestria, I'm sure you must have seen it. It could only have been a sonic rainboom, and I would very much like to see the pegasus who accomplished such a feat. Do you know who it was?" Celestia asks, keeping their tone pleasant and casual.

"I, um, don't know. Your Majesty," the pegasus states, nervously, keeping his head bowed.

Celestia cocks their head to the side curiously. "You don't know? Were you not stationed there when it happened?"

Blizzard Feather shakes his head. "No. I mean, yes, I mean... I was stationed here, but the rainboom didn't come from here. It came from the lower levels."

Celestia pauses. They had just assumed that the rainboom must have come from a Wonderbolt—after all, they were the most talented fliers in all of Equestria. But here they were, hearing that it had come from the lower levels. That... makes no sense. The lower levels are largely for cargo containers, shipping, and flight camp. Why would such a talented flier be there?

Nonetheless, it was a lead to go off of. So, Celestia kicks off the ground once more, and nods their head at Blizzard Feather. "Very well. Thank you for your help, Blizzard Feather. Oh, and give my regards to Windrider. I particularly enjoyed his last performance in Canterlot," Celestia states warmly.

"Y-yes, ma-am! I mean, sir! I mean, princess!" Blizzard Feather salutes as Celestia takes off once more, ascending away from the long airstrip and cloud base that serves as the Wonderbolts headquarters.

While they fly down, Celestia ponders why such an event would occur down in the training camps. Perhaps one of the fillies fell, and an instructor had performed the rainboom in their struggle to save them? That would certainly be a commendable feat. There are other buildings down here, of course—maintenance areas, housing for some pegasi who work in the shipping business, and the large cargo stations used for handling shipments to and from Cloudsdale. But it seems highly improbable the rainboom had anything to do with them, even more so than the training sections.

The flight camp area is not like the rest of Cloudsdale; there aren't many things one would consider 'buildings', just a variety of clouds connected by columns and pillars, with obstacle courses, racing circuits, and goalposts as far as the eye can see. These training fields serve not only the youth of Cloudsdale, but all of Equestria, with young pegasi traveling to Cloudsdale to learn.

Looking from cloud to cloud, a hubbub of attention catches Celestia's eye. There is a large group of excitable fillies, and one gryphon, all gathered together, cheering. Ah. These must have seen the Rainboom. Celestia thinks to themself before gliding down to join the group.

"Good morning, my little ponies. Can any of you tell me where the wave of light an hour ago came from?" Celestia asks gently. The young fliers, interrupted from the center of their attention, notice the princess and gasp in shock in unison.

"Is that... who I think it is?"
"P-P-Princess Celestia!?"
"I-I'm talking to the princess! T-the princess is talking to me!"

Celestia waits patiently for the awe of the ponies around them to fade, while a lone filly from the group struts up in front of Celestia boldly. She's a young, cyan toned pegasus with a messy prismatic mane. Unlike all of the other ponies around, this filly doesn't look even a little nervous or deferential to the princess, puffing out her chest proudly and standing upright and tall. Celestia raises their brow; it’s rare to see anypony, even young ponies who didn't know better, who would approach the monarch of Equestria so readily.

"It was me!" The filly announces. "I was racing to protect Flutters's honor, an' I made the rainboom happen by going so fast to the finish line!"

Celestia giggles a little. Not only is the filly bold, but she has quite the imagination as well. Celestia lays down, putting themself on eye level with the filly, who stares into Celestia's eyes with fierce pride writ upon her features. "Oh? And what is your name?" Celestia asks, softly.

Putting her chin up in the air and flaring her wings out to the sides, striking a quite heroic looking pose, the filly announces with all the gravitas she can muster, "Rainbow Dash!"

What a feisty little pony. Celestia thinks approvingly. It is a nice change of pace, compared to the normal deference—even fear—their presence usually instills. Like that experienced by all of the other colts and fillies around, who are currently standing back in nervous awe. "Well, Rainbow Dash, are you sure it wasn't somepony else? Maybe one of your instructors had to catch you…?" Celestia gently asks. They don’t want to directly accuse the filly of lying, but there is obviously no way such a young pegasus could have pulled off such a feat, which had never before been accomplished by any mere pegasus.

Rainbow Dash looks up at the princess, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "What're you tryna say? You calling me a liar?" The filly stomps her hoof on the cloud belligerently.

Some of the other fillies cower in fear or dive under clouds, as if worried that Celestia would reduce the rebellious filly in front of them to ash on the spot, but the princess just shakes their head. But before they can say anything, another of the ponies works up the nerve to stand up on wobbling knees, giving a surprisingly proper military salute.

"U-um, she's telling the truth, sir!" The pony says in a tone of voice Celestia had heard many times before— not that of a frightened filly, but that of a subordinate talking to her commanding officer. Just a moment later, the gryphon of the group also takes a spot by the two fillies.

"Yeah, it's true! I saw the whole thing!" The gryphon pipes up. Celestia looks at her with interest. Ever since the gryphons had been integrated into Equestria following the Relic Wars six hundred years ago, young gryphons were sent to Cloudsdale for flight training to encourage bonds between the gryphons and pegasi. So it is not entirely unusual to see gryphons in Cloudsdale. Having said that, seeing one willing to stand up for a friend is unusual, and makes Celestia's heart glow with a spot of pride.

Celestia turns back to look at Rainbow Dash, appraising the filly in a new light. Could it actually be true? It seems impossible, yet... "May I ask where your instructor is, right now?" They would hold off on any judgements until they had heard from an adult.

Rainbow Dash ponders, then shakes her head. "Nu-uh, no clue. We organized the race ourselves," Rainbow Dash explains.

Well, that sure is convenient... Celestia thinks, still doubtful. But if that is the case, then there is still one more thing they can try, though it isn't reliable.

"Very well. May I have your permission to perform a quick evaluation?" Celestia asks the filly, who looks up at the alicorn's horn warily. Rainbow Dash has never been near a unicorn nor alicorn before, and though she knows about unicorn magic, she has little idea how it works. For the first time since Celestia had arrived, she begins to actually feel nervous, suddenly aware that if Celestia willed it, they could easily reduce her to ash on the spot. Had she done something wrong? Was the rainboom illegal!?

Gulping down her nervousness, Rainbow Dash sits back on her haunches. "Um... I mean... I guess." Rainbow Dash clenches up, hoping that the 'evaluation' would not be painful.

It turned out that she had nothing to worry about, as all she feels is a slight buzzing sensation as the alicorn's magic seeps through her body.

Celestia blinks in surprise and takes a step back, while all of the pegasi fillies watch in a mixture of fear and nervous anticipation. "Starswirl's beard..." Celestia mutters in astonishment. "You really did do it." The princesses tone of voice is matter-of-fact, not a glimmer of doubt in their mind now. The amount of magical energy swirling within the rambunctious pegasus filly in front of them is simply staggering, something that could only be explained by raw talent, vigor, and will.

Celestia looks back down at the pegasus filly with newfound respect. "Rainbow Dash, you have accomplished something today that no other pegasus in history ever has. And at such a tender young age, too... Your potential is, frankly, unrivaled," Celestia starts. "It would be my honor if you would come to my school in Canterlot, that we might hone your gifts to their fullest potential."

Rainbow Dash falls back on her haunches in shock at the offer. Her...? Being extended a personal offer by the Princess of the Sun themself? She knows she’s awesome, but... that awesome? Her mind whirls in confoundment, before she manages to pull herself together. "But... Everypony knows Celestia's school of magic is for unicorns!" Rainbow Dash blurts out.

Celestia gives the pegasus a sly smile and spreads their wings wide. Wingtip to wingtip, they’re far broader than any pegasus Rainbow Dash had ever seen. "These aren't just for show, you know," Celestia remarks, a playful tone to their voice as they suddenly rocket up into the sky and perform a hairpin midair loop before halting in place. Somehow, their ethereal mane and graceful form look even more elegant, backlit against the bright blue sky, and Rainbow Dash's jaw drops in awe. "I have had over a millennium to hone my flying skills, and I’ve flown alongside the best fliers in Equestrian history—Flash Magnus, Shadow Kicker, Firefly, Purple Dart, and Fairweather, to name a few.

"I think I can manage to teach a filly some tricks," Celestia gives an amused smirk as they glide back down from the clouds, lightly poking the filly in the nose with their hoof. But then, the alicorn's expression turns more serious. "But in all honesty, there is far more that I would teach you than simply flight. Harnessing your pegasus magic can do great things, both for yourself and Equestria at large. Such raw talent deserves to be explored."

Rainbow Dash's mind struggles to keep up, but even to a filly, the weight of what is being stated is readily apparent. An offer from the Princess of the Sun themself is no small matter, and it could easily change the course of her entire life. And yet...

Rainbow Dash glances at the other ponies near her, and more generally, at Cloudsdale. It’s home, and it always has been—high in the sky, above the earth, where flight is just a natural part of life. And more importantly, it’s the home of the Wonderbolts. Her dream to join them had only just been formed, and now another option was bludgeoning its way into her life. Seeing Rainbow Dash's hesitation writ plainly on her face, Celestia nods.

"You don't need to make a decision right now, my young pegasus. For now, you should think it over. It is, after all, not a decision to be taken lightly," Celestia states delicately.

"What? Don't tell me you're seriously considering turning them down?" The gryphon asks Rainbow Dash incredulously. "You're always going on about how awesome you are, and now the ruler of all of Equestria themself shows up to acknowledge it!" They prod Rainbow Dash from the side.

The other pegasus pipes up. "Yeah! It's not like you to hesitate on something like this!" she jeers. "What's the matter? Just take the offer!"

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "It's not that simple, Cloud Kicker! I'd be leaving Cloudsdale..." she states fiercely, before looking back up at Celestia. "I'd have to talk to my parents, too."

Celestia looks on approvingly. The pegasus before them, though rowdy and rambunctious, also has a surprisingly good head on her shoulders, from what they can tell. "Of course. Regardless of your decision, you've accomplished a great feat here today, and you should be proud. May I meet the parents of such an extraordinary young filly?"

Rainbow Dash beams. Though she isn't sure about changing her whole course in life on a dime like that, it doesn't take a second thought to realize that having the Sun Princess visit her home personally would give her bragging rights for the rest of her life. So, she nods her head enthusiastically. "Uh-huh!"

Celestia lowers their head oddly deferentially, stifling a giggle at the filly's enthusiasm. "Well then, Rainbow Dash, lead the way."

Rainbow Dash turns around to say goodbye to her friends. "I'll be sure to let you both know what I decide. Catch you later, Gilda. Bye, Cloud Kicker." Rainbow Dash hoofbumps each of her friends in turn before wheeling around and taking off.

As Celestia follows, they are able to get their first good look at the filly's flying technique. Though it is... unrefined, it is easy to see the raw talent possessed; she moves with agility, confidence, and grace, though her technique is somewhat sloppy and could use some work. Nothing that a few afternoons with the premier flight trainers in Equestria wouldn't hammer out, though. Celestia thinks to themself.

Upon reaching the mid-layer of the cloud city where her house is, Rainbow Dash touches down. She could fly straight there, but she wants as many ponies as possible to witness the monarch of all of Equestria following her around. Puffing out her chest proudly and holding her chin high, Rainbow Dash basks in the awed and shocked looks from everypony she crossed paths with.

Slamming the door to her house open, Rainbow Dash struts inside confidently. "Mom! Dad! I'm home! And I brought a visitor. They'd like to talk with you!"

"Oh, sweetie, it's so good to see you're home! How did your day go?" Windy Whistles calls out from the other room as she quickly trots towards the front door to see her daughter. "Did you beat any records toda..." She trails off as her jaw goes slack, and, with eyes as wide as saucers, she notices Princess Celestia themself standing behind her daughter with a warm expression. Rainbow Dash beams proudly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Princess Celestia greets the slack-jawed pegasus. "To answer your question, your daughter has in fact set a record today. May I come in?"

"B-B-Bow, get in here." Windy stammers out, visibly vibrating. "C-C-Come right in, P-P-Prin..." She doesn't seem to be able to finish that sentence, but Celestia gets the message and nods their head gratefully.

"Thank you. My, what a cozy home you have here," Celestia remarks as they sit down at the table.

"Dear? What is it?" Bow Hothoof calls out from upstairs, trotting down the stairs, only to find the surreal image of Princess Celestia sitting down at the family dining table, patiently waiting for him.

"Dear Celestia..." Bow prays under his breath. "It's Celestia."

It takes some time for Rainbow Dash's parents to pull themselves together enough to string together a coherent statement, and once they do, it’s largely just to start asking if the princess needs anything. It isn't until cups of tea have been made and they all sit down at the table that they stop vibrating in awe long enough to introduce themselves and hear what Celestia has to say.

"This morning, your daughter accomplished an extraordinary feat," Celestia explains. "She became the first pegasus, and second pony, in all of recorded history to have performed a Sonic Rainboom. Even if she were an adult, that would have been an astonishing feat, but as a filly it is doubly impressive."

Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles look at each other, and then back at Celestia. "Our Dashie," Windy starts, "performed a sonic rainboom?" Bow finishes.

Rainbow Dash winces as the living room is overtaken by a cacophony of parental cheering and pride. Somehow, in her eagerness to show off that she had attracted the eye of the princess themself, she had neglected to consider how embarrassing her parents could be. Before she can escape the couch, she is overtaken by a massive bear hug between the two of them.

"If any pegasus could do it, it would be our Dashie!" Bow gushes. "She's always been such a phenomenal learner!"

Celestia smiles with warmth and sincerity as they take a sip of their tea. It's good to see that she's well loved. "Now, onto business. I have extended your daughter an offer to come to Canterlot as my personal student, that she might learn how to best harness her abilities." Celestia explains. "If she should decide to take me up on my offer, she would learn from the best that Equestria can provide. But as she would be studying so far from home, she would have to live at the palace with me while she was studying."

As if everything else that had been told to them wasn't enough, this latest revelation sent fresh waves of excitement through her parents. "Our Dashie, being mentored by... By Celestia themself?" Windy Whistles utters in astonishment while looking over at her husband. "Where do we sign up!?" Bow asks, elated.

"Not so fast!" Rainbow Dash shouts, prying her muzzle out of her parents' grasp for long enough to speak up. "I haven't made up my mind yet. Princess, I have some questions." The pegasus announces, crawling out from between her parents and standing fiercely on the couch with wings spread out as if she thought she was getting ready for battle.

"Ask away. I wouldn't expect you to make such a large decision without full knowledge first. In fact, I wouldn't permit it." Celestia announces, firmly. Even though they seem calm, there is a certain weight and gravitas to that last statement which makes Rainbow Dash swallow nervously.

"Well, um, first off... What would I be learning? I'm not an egghead, I like flying and speed. And the Wonderbolts academy is here, in Cloudsdale, so if I want to learn from the best, wouldn't I be better off staying there?" Rainbow Dash asks, skeptically.

Celestia nods. "In some ways, yes. If you wish to only focus on your flight abilities, you would be better served staying in Cloudsdale. But I believe you have far more potential than simply being a racer or stunt pony. To assuage your concerns, the military school in Canterlot has some of the best flight trainers in all of Equestria, perhaps second to the Wonderbolts Academy, perhaps not. But you would also be trained by me, personally. So your flight training would not be lacking." Celestia explains. "But there would be much more to it than just that; You would be trained how to best harness your Pegasus magic, how to fight to defend both yourself and others, how to navigate the world, how to survive in the wild, taught leadership skills... And, of course, Academics." Celestia adds the last one as if it was an afterthought.

Rainbow Dash groans. 'Academics.' Just about anything else was preferable over that. But she still has one more major concern. "And... How would this affect my chances of getting into the Wonderbolts?" Rainbow Dash asks, finally.

Celestia's gaze softens, and they speak more gently than the previous, more formal answer. "I will be honest, if you take me up on my offer, it is unlikely you will ever become a Wonderbolt. You would likely take on greater responsibilities that would conflict with Wonderbolt training, and would be away from Cloudsdale too often to compete." Rainbow Dash looks like she is going to turn them down on the spot in response to that statement, but Celestia continues. "But I believe your destiny holds greater things for you than being a mere performer. I understand that is your dream, and if you wish to pursue it I will not hinder you. But with your potential, I know you could be so much more."

Celestia's words touch Rainbow's pride just right, leaving her once again uncertain. What Celestia describes is so different from how she imagined life going, such a departure from all the goals and hopes she has for herself. And yet...

Rainbow Dash sighs, looking down at the ground. "Can I... Think it over?" She asks, finally, eliciting gasps of shock from both of her parents. Celestia nods gracefully.

"Of course. Having said that, I'm afraid I cannot stay while you do. Duty calls. Take this." Celestia offers a hoof bracelet to Rainbow Dash, emblazoned with the royal seal on the front. "If you should choose to take me up on my offer... Present this to the guards at the royal palace in Canterlot. They will let you in."

Rainbow Dash takes the signet with unease, turning it over in her hooves. It's strange; She had just accomplished the greatest feat of her life and been told that she had nearly limitless potential. But all she feels is a strange sense of trepidation. She could, of course, simply refuse Celestia's offer and continue on her normally scheduled path towards becoming a Wonderbolt; The Princess hadn't put any pressure on her to accept, after all. Yet, what would she be throwing away if she did that..? At that moment, she feels uncannily aware that her decision would affect the course of the rest of her life.

Rainbow Dash finally looks up at Celestia, with a determined expression. "Alright. I'll think about it." She finally responds.

Celestia nods. "I would expect no less. Take your time to make your decision, it is not one to be made lightly." The Sun Princess states with delicate emphasis, before nodding to each of Rainbow's parents in turn. "It was good to meet you two. Regardless of what choice they make, you should know that you've raised an extraordinary young filly. You should be proud."

And just like that, the alicorn is gone, leaving Rainbow Dash with a confounding storm of warring emotions inside of her head.

"I'm going to tuck in early," Rainbow Dash reports from where she is lying on the couch. Since Celestia had left an hour or two ago, she had been lying near-catatonic on the couch as her parents did their best to comfort or talk to her. It wasn't like Rainbow at all, and it warrants considerable concern. The statement that she was going to tuck in early does not help that case; Rainbow Dash was usually more likely to stay up late and just catch up on sleep by power napping during the day.

"Rainbow...?" Bow asks, hesitantly. "Are you sure everything is alright? If you need help talking things through, we're right here," he offers, but Rainbow Dash just shakes her head and climbs the stairs up to her room.

It isn't that she's upset, exactly. On some level, she is as overjoyed as she should be given the circumstances, but that level is deep inside of her, and on the surface is the unusual pensiveness that encompassed her that day.

It's weird, Rainbow thinks to herself, as she lays back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling without the blankets covering her. I'm not normally like this. What am I even doing? She ponders, restlessly rolling over onto her side with her head tucked against the pillow. Thinking problems through slowly and carefully isn't really Rainbow Dash's forte; she's generally more prone to smashing her way through them with brute force. But this isn't like choosing what to do for the day or challenging a filly to a race; in the back of her mind, she is painfully aware that her decision here will change the rest of her life.

Maybe I'll think better on a full night of sleep… I hope She isn't really sure, since she didn't think she'd ever had a decision she'd had to sleep on before.

Rainbow Dash's eyes shoot open, not knowing where she is, as a flash of light emanates around her. It is only after the resounding boom of thunder passes through her that she realizes the light came from stormclouds hanging overhead. Where am I...? Rainbow Dash wonders in a daze, looking around at the crumbling stonework all around her. She seems to be in a massive, ornamental hall, badly weathered by the ages. The vaunted ceiling stretches up high above her, almost invisible in the darkness until another flash of lightning crashes through the sky above.

Rainbow Dash flinches reflexively, before cursing herself for doing so; she’s not supposed to be so easily scared! But despite telling herself that, she can't help but shiver in a combination of fear and awe. She looks up and around, seeing massive sections of the ceiling that are caved in, the rubble strewn across the floor, while vast stained glass windows on either side let in the dim light from outside.

Suddenly, a booming laughter, as loud as the thunder that was crashing through the hall, resounds. It hits Rainbow with a wave of physical force like a shockwave that blasts her backwards. She desperately flaps her wings in flight to catch her balance before she falls to the ground, landing in a combative stance. "Who's there?" she shouts, her voice filled with bravado that her heart doesn't match.

"Your fate." The voice calls Rainbow from down the hall. "Come and face it, if you dare." The voice continues to resound from all around her, speaking with all of the intensity of the thunderclouds hanging outside.

Rainbow hesitantly glances around. There are no side passages, and the hall just seems to fade into black darkness behind her, so she nervously gulps and begins walking forwards. Chunks of ancient stonework, still grandiose even in their ruined state, jut from the ground around her.

Rainbow Dash isn't sure how long she walks, but at some point, shivering in the cold air, she comes to the end of the hall. There are many such windows lining each side, but the two stained glass panels here are the only two that catch her eye, because she recognizes the ponies depicted within.

On one side... Shadow Kicker, her friend Cloud Kicker’s distant ancestor, armored wing to hoof, a pool of crimson blood at her hooves. An ancient hero from a bygone era.

And on the other, illuminated by a flash of lightning in the thunderstorm raging in the background, is a pony from far more recent history. In fact, one who is still alive. Wind Rider, captain of the Wonderbolts.

Rainbow Dash shakes her head and shields herself from the biting wind with her wings. Though she is technically inside, the numerous cracks and shattered glass in the hall let the storm winds in with little resistance. "What is this? Why are you showing me this?" Rainbow Dash shouts out, looking around in the darkness for her tormentor.

Booming laughter echoes once again, and Rainbow Dash involuntarily shuts her eyes, cowering under its weight. "You have a choice to make, my young subject. Stay in Cloudsdale if you value your life, for if you follow your fool of a princess, you shall share the fate of those who came before you!" Rainbow Dash's eyes shoot open once again, as the scenes in the stained glass seem to come to life. Shadow Kicker, impaled by a dozen spears and laying dying in a pool of her own blood. And Wind Rider, soaring high on the wings of a storm, without a care in the world. Rainbow's eyes grow wide, taking in the scene, as cracks like sparks of lightning crawl across both paintings, from the bottom towards the top, even while the figures in them continue moving. Wind Rider ascends up, up, until they have left the painting entirely, while Shadow Kicker's last, pained breaths cease.

A forked tongue of lightning crashes down from the stormclouds above, piercing each painting and shattering them into pieces along the cracks that had formed. Rainbow screams and jumps back, only for a sudden gust of wind to sweep her through the air. Though the pegasus filly tries to catch herself on the edge of where the paintings had once been, she finds herself plummeting down into the darkness before her. Soon enough, she can see nothing, feeling only the biting wind in her fur and her scream fading into the rumbling of the storm beyond.

Homecoming

Celestia touches down on one of the platforms high in the Canterlot palace, folding their wings against their sides and letting out a huff of air. They'd put off their responsibilities with very little warning in order to investigate the magical surge, and although they don't regret that decision, it does mean that the rest of that day will be even more exhausting than usual. Steeling themself, Celestia holds their head up high in preparation for holding court and strides into the palace, noting a distinct lack of security with unease.

The two guards on duty at that entrance, momentarily ago sitting down playing a game of cards, gulp nervously and bolt to their hooves on either side of the door. "P-Princess!" One of them hastily salutes. Celestia wheels around, arching a brow.

"Is this what passes for discipline among the royal guard now?" The princess questions. "If I was trying to infiltrate the castle, I could have easily done so just now. The only reason you two saw me was because I was making no effort to conceal my presence. What are your names?"

"W-Wind lancer!"
"Ruby Hoof, Sir!"

"Hm." Celestia ponders. They didn't recognize the names, but that made sense; Although in theory part of the same organization, the palace guards are significantly less involved with Celestia personally compared to the Royal Companions which accompany the princess in the field. Still, that was no excuse for slacking. "Who is your superior officer?"

"General Apple Corps, sir!" Ruby hoof pipes up.

"Alright, Wind Lancer and Ruby Hoof. I'll let you off easy this one time, but if I catch you slacking on watch again, I'll make sure you're on sewer detail for a week. Understood?" Celestia states, triggering nervous gulps from the two as they stand up and at attention.

"Yes, sir!" both state in unison, and Celestia nods.

"Good." With that taken care of, Celestia continues into the throne room at a brisk pace, relieved to see that at least the throne room guards are properly standing watch.

Kneeling down before Celestia, one of the guards on duty reports. "Your majesty, General Apple Corps has been awaiting your arrival in the guest chambers. The dignitaries from Zebrica have also arrived, but have not yet petitioned for a meeting. Shall I dispatch for the general?"

Celestia nods as they take up their place on the solitary throne. "Yes, and please send my apologies for the delay. There was some unexpected business to take care of."

The guard nods, the doors shut behind him, and for a hoofful of minutes Celestia is left to their own devices in the throne room awaiting the general's arrival. But before long, the gates in front of them crack open, allowing the brown-toned earth pony into the throne room. Apple Corps strides to the center of the room and kneels down before the alicorn as the gates seal shut behind him.

"Your majesty," Apple Corps states deferentially.

Celestia sighs loudly. "Don't stand on ceremony with me now, Corps, it is just the two of us. I have to deal with that enough from everypony else."

Apple Corps nods and stands up, still with a somewhat formal posture, but at least dispensing with the kneeling. "Of course. I wanted to meet with you regarding the latest batch of new military reforms you are pushing through. With all due respect, I can't fathom why you're doing it now; replacing the equipment of the entire guard alone will take up twice our annual budget. Wasn't the expansion of the Royal Legions sufficient? The Nobility are starting to ask why we need such a large standing army."

"The Nobility. Right." Celestia lets out a small sigh. Though technically one of the pillars of their rule, the nobles tend to be more a thorn in Equestria's side than anything else. Celestia had meant to do something about that a very, very long time ago... But events had conspired against them. Celestia shakes their head to clear it from the momentary distraction that thoughts of the past had brought, and refocuses on the issue at hoof. "If the nobles had their way, we'd probably still be throwing spears and holding shield walls for all our battles. I don't seem to recall those tactics being particularly effective last time the dragons led an incursion." Celestia remarks dryly.

Apple Corps motions at a small stack of papers he had brought with him. "But many of these technologies aren't well established. I've caught sight of some of these folding claws. R&D is still having trouble making the hinge mechanism strong enough to survive impact. The continued development costs are going to cut into the guard's other duties at the current rate."

Celestia can't help but roll their eyes. By 'other duties', the general meant showboating and parades. Standing up and striding over to the window, Celestia gazes out over Equestria stretching off into the distance before turning to respond to the general. "General Apple Corps, what is the primary function of the Guard?" they ask.

Apple Corps frowns. "Well... To protect Equestria and represent its interests, I suppose."

"And do you feel that the current state of the guard is sufficient to serve that purpose?" Celestia questions.

Apple Corps looks uncertain. "Well. I can't see why not. The current state of the guard has been more than sufficient for peacekeeping and maintaining order."

Celestia shakes their head. "I'm not referring to peacekeeping or maintaining order, General. If an army wereto invade Equestria, say, this very afternoon... do you think you would be able to stop it?" The general opens his mouth to speak, but Celestia cuts him off before he can. "Mind you, I don't mean an army with antiquated tactics and weaponry like the Yaks. What if, say, the dragon lord chose to invade? Or the changelings? Equestrian intelligence informs me that they have a new queen sitting on the throne, who is far less isolationist than the previous. Or even a threat from within? Are you aware that there are presently no less than four insurrectionist groups operating within Equestria's borders?"

General Apple Corps bristles at the apparent insult to his troops, and stands up even straighter. "Princess, my soldiers are more than ready to handle any threats that might appear! We have kept vigilant watch over Equestria for generations, and will continue to do so!”

Celestia raises a brow. "Really, general? I caught two of your soldiers playing a game of cards instead of guarding the upper passage to the palace not long ago." Celestia sighs, and their gaze softens sympathetically. "I understand you are protective of your soldiers, General. But I need you to understand me. They are not ready. The guard has become a cushy position for second-sons of noble families to parade around in uniform and entertain dignitaries, not a modern fighting force. These reforms are necessary to protect Equestria."

Apple Corps gives an exasperated sigh. "With all due respect, your majesty, just what is it that you're afraid of? Equestria has been at peace for well over a century, and there is no sign of it ending."

"Nor will there be before the inevitable conflict, I'm afraid. We cannot wait until war is already on our doorstep to begin preparing; by then, it will be too late." Celestia broods, staring out at the distant horizon and shaking their head. "Between resistance from the nobility, traditionalists in the military, and opposition from pacifist elements of society, these reforms have already taken far longer to institute than I expected. We cannot delay any longer. If I have learned one thing in my time as Princess of the Sun... it is that the calm is always followed by a storm. Always."

The general grunts in frustration, but bows his head. "...Of course, your majesty. I will begin making the necessary changes." Though begrudging, the general salutes respectfully before making for the exit.

"Oh, and General... Tell the guard to let in the Zebrican dignitaries now." Celestia calls out to the departing figure of the general and returns to her throne. General Apple Corps might have been stubborn as a mule, and a staunch traditionalist to boot, but he was also one of the only ranking military officers in Equestria who had seen actual combat—not just a border skirmish here or there, but an entire campaign against insurrectionists in eastern Equestria. Because of that, Celestia was willing to overlook certain deficits, knowing the stallion to be a talented commander when it came down to it.

The rest of the day is filled with political niceties and fervent negotiations over trade routes running through disputed territory in southern Equestria. Though an infrastructure project to improve contact between southern and northern Equestria was underway, the desert at the far southern terminus of Equestrian territory was still an isolated enclave with spotty communication at best. Between that, and their scheduled appearance at a local school, Celestia is barely able to raise the moon in time.

Or more accurately, isn't. Two minutes late. Celestia thinks in moderate frustration, glancing at the nearby clock. The diversion to Cloudsdale that morning had made it difficult to get everything for the day done, and now they are just exhausted. Still, there is one more thing to do before they can allow themself some sleep.

Making their way to the guards headquarters, Celestia receives the day's reports- Newest updates from Equestrian Intelligence, frontier patrols, and more. Most of it is just the same as usual, though one tidbit from the Intelligence report does catch the princesses eye; Gryphonian separatists apparently have a new leader. They would have to keep an eye on that.

Satisfied that none of it requires their immediate attention, Celestia signs off, and makes their way towards the royal quarters, only to be ambushed by a pale-colored unicorn with bright yellow eyes and a white mane.

"Hey, Princess! Where didja go this afternoon?" The guardspony asks them, in an obnoxiously casual tone. This was Mooncrescent, one of the youngest members of the Royal Companions, with his older brother Starblaze following just a bit behind.

Celestia turns to face the two, a slight smile tugging on their lips. Technically, the two guardsponies should really have been expelled from the guard ages ago for insubordination, but Celestia can't help but have a soft spot for ponies who treated her less like a princess and more like any other pony. "You saw the rainbow earlier today?" Celestia asks. Mooncrescent nods his head vigorously. "I felt the need to track down the pony responsible, and flew to Cloudsdale to investigate." Celestia explains.

Mooncrescent pouts. "Cloudsdale? That means you had to go through the Everfree forest! Aww, why couldn't you have taken us with you? We might've gotten to fight some timberwolves or, maybe a manticore!" He announces, far too excitedly for the discussion topic.

Celestia stifles a giggle. "I think you may have had trouble keeping up with me, considering I was flying." Celestia stretches their wings out as if to demonstrate the point.

Mooncrescent sighs and flops down onto the ground. "Oh, phooie, we never get to do anything." He bemoans. Celestia looks down at the young unicorn, still just a cadet, and raises his head to look at her.

"Don't you worry, my faithful guardspony. You will get your 'action' as you say, sooner or later." Celestia remarks, with an odd hint of melancholy in her voice. Mooncrescent frowns; Despite his relaxed posture, he was actually quite observant.

"If you say so, Princess." Mooncrescent sighs. "Well, I'm going to go back to training now. Remember to take us with you next time!" Mooncrescent waves a hoof before galloping off. Celestia watches the retreating sight of the young stallion with bemusement, before heading off towards their own quarters at long last.

"Why do you think they even keep us around?" Starblaze asks his brother, trotting along after him. "I mean, like they said, we can't exactly keep up."

Mooncrescent glances back, and shrugs. "I dunno. Maybe they just like our company?"

Celestia gently shuts the door behind them as they enter their quarters, finally alone once again. The burdens of leadership falling from their shoulders, the alicorn steps towards the open balcony, and sits down. The two guardsponies in training might be insubordinate, but Celestia can't manage to feel upset about it. After all, there was only one other pony who had ever spoken to her similarly.

Gazing up into the night sky, Celestia finds her gaze drawn once again to the moon. "Dearest sister, I know you'll be coming home soon." Celestia speaks softly. "It's been such a long time. When the time comes, I pray you can forgive me."

Celestia sits there for a long moment, feeling the cracks forming in the protective facade they had kept up for so long, before jerking their gaze away with sudden restlessness. Slamming shut the door to the balcony, the princess stalks over to the massive bed and lays down. You should rest. You'll need as much as you can get. As every day, tomorrow will bring fresh challenges, and they will face them all for the sake of Equestria. Even if their heart is somewhere else, far, far away, within a distant nighttime sky.

New Horizons

Rainbow Dash jolts back awake with a start, bolting up to her hooves on top of her bed. Her heart pounding in her chest, her head darts this way and that, as if looking for an unseen enemy, breathing heavily. It's just... My room. Just my room. Nothing is here. Rainbow Dash hisses at herself, irritated at her own reaction. So much for being a brave pony, here she is jumping at her own shadow just because she had a nightmare! "Who am I, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash mutters to herself sardonically.

Hopping off of her bed, she marches over to the window and looks outside. It is still dark, and she isn't entirely sure what time it is, but with adrenaline coursing through her veins there isn't any chance she is going back to bed. So instead, walking quietly, she slips out of her room and heads downstairs to the vacant living room. If she's stuck awake already, she might as well get breakfast out of the way.

The fillies cooking skills are not exactly spectacular, but she is at least able to stick a load of pasta in hot water and sandwich it between two halves of a potato. Hopping up on the chair and trying to keep from making too much noise to not wake up her parents, Rainbow Dash thinks back to the nightmare from last night. It was not the kind of dream she normally had, even if she was stressed out about something. She remembers feeling unsure about herself when she first started flight camp, despite her parents encouragement, but hadn't had any dream like the one from last night.

It just didn't seem right. Weren't dreams supposed to be something from her own subconscious? That dream certainly hadn't felt like something her mind would come up with. What would it even mean? It wasn't weird in the way that dreams normally were, either; No sudden scene changes, no inane tangents that didn't go anywhere. It felt more like a message being delivered concisely to her.

Ha! Even if it is, I'm not going to be that easily cowed! Rainbow Dash tells herself, even though in her heart of hearts she does in fact feel a bit cowed.

By the time she has finished her starchy sandwich, Rainbow's thoughts have moved on to the big decision ahead of her. Creepy dreams or not, she still has to make up her mind. Her parents wouldn't stop her either way, she is pretty sure, which means that the decision is ultimately in her hooves.

A part of her feels humbled, that the monarch of Equestria had flown all the way out here just to see her. How could she turn down such an offer? Yet, another part- the spunky, rebellious part- feels almost angry. She had just made her dream, just proven she could do it, and here the princess came in telling her she should do something completely different!

That's ridiculous. Even Rainbow Dash knew that. They have no idea what your dreams are, they're the princess of all Equestria for heavens sake. You should feel honored they took the time to come all the way out here just for you.

Her thoughts continue circling that way until, before she knows it, the sun rises and her mother comes downstairs. "Honey? What are you doing up so early?" It is, thankfully, not a flight camp day, and normally Rainbow Dash would have been sleeping in late. The dark circles under the pegasus' eyes give away that she had not gotten a full night of sleep.

"Oh, hey, mom." Rainbow Dash shrugs. "Just felt like it, I guess." No way I'm admitting I had a nightmare. Rainbow Dash can hear the warble in her own voice, but hopes it isn't too recognizable to her mother.

Windy Whistles walks up by her side and sits down next to her, wrapping a wing around her daughter. "What's going on, Dashie? I would have thought you'd be over the moon, but instead I don't know if I've ever seen you so down. Do you want to talk about it?"

Rainbow Dash hops off the chair she was on and glances back at her mother, shaking her head furiously. The last thing she wants is a mushy heart-to-heart about her feelings, she would figure this out on her own just like everything. "I'm heading over to my friends." Rainbow Dash announces, trotting towards the door.

"Don't you want breakfast first?" Her mother calls after her, so Rainbow Dash glances back and shakes her head again. "I'm good. I already ate."

Rainbow Dash strolls lackadaisically through Cloudsdale, the light from the morning sun still somewhat dim as it peaks over the horizon. Much of the land below is still cloaked in shadow, but the flying city is always first exposed to the sun. As Rainbow Dash reaches the edge of the particular cloud layer her house is on, she gently lifts up into the air. The cloud city is mostly calm, except...

Rainbow Dash shades her eyes with her hoof while looking up towards the upper levels, and in particular the Wonderbolts academy. As every day, the Wonderbolts are already out and about, barely visible against the brightening sky beyond, yet unmistakable as anypony else. After all, who else in cloudsdale would be doing a corkscrew dive at high speeds this early in the morning?

Rainbow Dash closes her eyes, hovering in place, and imagines herself up there with them, wearing the blue-and-yellow uniform and leading the aerobatics squad in flight. She knew she could do it, knew she could reach that. It's so easy for her to imagine, she can practically see herself diving and soaring through the air with them.

But then, as Rainbow Dash opens her eyes again, she finds herself gazing the other direction. Far to the west, where Canterlot is just barely visible in the distance. She had seen the city from a distance many times of course, as Cloudsdale passed above it occasionally as part of its weather routine. But try as she might, she can't imagine walking its streets, or soaring through its skies. She can't imagine what it would be like to live there. It was an unknown world, beyond her experience; She'd never even touched the ground below her flying home before.

Rainbow Dash snarls to herself. So what if it's unknown? Are you some kind of coward? Rainbow Dash scowls and beats her wings in flight, heading for the training fields, or more accurately, the dormitories. Her friends would be there, since they aren't native to the cloud city. On the way, her mind drifts back to the distant mountain city to the west of Cloudsdale. What would life be like if she were to go there? How would it change the course of her life? The city was the least of uncertainties that would await her. Being the personal pupil of the Sun Princess both sounds too good to be true, and an utterly terrifying prospect at the same time.

No, you've always wanted everypony to see what you can do. This isn't like you. Rainbow Dash shakes her head. Thinking this hard about something is a decidedly unfamiliar experience and, if you asked her, unwelcome. Besides, she had basically arrived at her destination now. The dormitory isn't active, given that Flight Camp is closed today, but Rainbow Dash feels confident at least Cloudkicker would be up. The filly came from a military family and had a strict policy of waking up every day at the crack of dawn drilled into her from a young age. Gilda would likely be up too, something about Griffin's having slightly different sleep patterns.

So it isn't a surprise when Rainbow Dash spots Cloudkicker in the yard doing wing-ups and Gilda lazing around on a cloud out in front, along with a couple of other colts. Gilda looks up at Dash with some surprise as she glides to a halt nearby. "Didn't expect to see you around today. Certainly not this early." Gilda remarks. "Did you really turn down the princess?" She sounds almost incredulous.

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "No, she just had to go back to Canterlot. She said I can have as much time as I want to think it over. I don't... Know what I'm going to do." Rainbow Dash states, rubbing one of her forelegs with the other anxiously. She almost mentions the dream she had, but quickly decides not to; A cool pegasus like her isn't supposed to have nightmares.

Cloudkicker jumps up as she finishes her wing-ups, stretching out sore wings as she trots over to join her two friends. "You know, my family lives in Canterlot. We'd probably see eachother more, if you went there."

Meanwhile, Gilda scoffs. "I'm surprised you didn't take them up on the offer already, but if you don't want to go you should just tell the princess to stuff it." Gilda's beak makes a shape that could generously be described as a smirk, though pony expressions didn't really map very well onto griffins. "I still can't believe you talked to them like that. You're lucky they didn't throw you in jail, if you act like that all the time its probably safer if you stay far away."

"Who cares whats safer?" Rainbow Dash asks sardonically, shaking her head. "I just dunno what I want to do yet. When they visited yesterday, Celestia said if I went with them I'd probably never become a Wonderbolt. I just made that dream and now..." Rainbow Dash trails off.

"Ha, then just don't go! Simple as that. Wonderbolts is your dream, nopony has the right to take that away from you. Isn't that right, Dash?" Gilda advises.

Rainbow Dash is silent for a long moment, thinking back to her dream. In her minds eye, she sees the painting of Shadowkicker again, lying in a pool of their own blood. But dead or not, the pony was a legend, exceeding the reputation of even the most talented wonderbolt. Flying is what I do. Should I just stick in my lane? Rainbow Dash wonders, frowning. But... If I can be even more than that, reach even higher pinnacles than I ever dreamt possible... After a long moment, Rainbow Dash sighs and looks up. "Hey, Gilda? Is it alright if I talk to Cloudkicker alone for a minute?"

The griffin looks properly miffed at the question, but just rolls her eyes. "Pfft, whatever. Just tell me whenever you've made up your mind." The griffin stalks off, looking to be somewhat insulted by the question.

Rainbow Dash walks over to the edge of the cloud and sits down, and Cloudkicker joins her, sitting beside her with a frown. "What is it, Dash? Why don't you want Gilda here?"

Rainbow Dash takes a deep breathe. I know its embarrassing but, Shadowkicker is her ancestor! I think I should tell her. "I... had a nightmare, last night." Rainbow Dash confesses. "N-not that I was scared!" She hastily adds. "But... I saw two stained glass portraits. There was this voice threatening me, trying to get me to stay in Cloudsdale, and I saw... Shadowkicker, lying bleeding on the ground." Rainbow Dash explains, shaking her head. "I don't have dreams like that, and I don't know what it means."

Cloudkicker waves her legs back and forth, and looks up, oddly pensive. "I've... had a few dreams like that before, too. It runs in the family." She points up at the sky. "My grandfather says bad dreams like that come from the moon, and only happen when there's a full moon out." Cloudkicker explains, triggering a surprised look from Rainbow Dash.

"Seriously? It's not just me?" Rainbow Dash asks, incredulously, and Cloudkicker shakes her head.

"I'm afraid not. I've... I've had dreams where I saw Shadowkicker, too. Always hurt or dying." Cloudkicker looks melancholic, before standing up. "You sure you aren't a kicker, too? Maybe somepony just broke the chain of names at some point."

Rainbow Dash shrugs. Genealogy is well outside of her area of expertise. She groans and leans back, falling onto the fluffy clouds and staring up into the sky. "I don't even know what exactly would be waiting for me in Canterlot. I mean, I've never even been on the ground before, or seen an earth pony! How am i supposed to..." Rainbow Dash sighs and interrupts herself. "But from what the princess said the other day, it sounded like they'd want to teach me how to fight and survive. Maybe they think I could be a good soldier or something. It feels... It feels like the world is telling me I could be like Shadowkicker."

Cloudkicker pauses for a long moment, frowning. "That's what my folks want from me. But is that what you want?" Cloudkicker asks. "I mean, you don't need to live up to anypony's expectations, you're just doing what you want. Right?" She hesitates again. "You know it won't be easy if that's what you want to do. Trust me, I would know."

Rainbow Dash grows distant for a bit, staring up into nothing particular. "I just thought I should talk to you about it." Rainbow Dash gives Cloudkicker a sidelong glance. A part of her wants to thank Cloudkicker, tell her she's a good friend. But a larger part hates all that mushy stuff, and refuses to say any such thing. So instead, Rainbow Dash clambers up to her feet and spreads her wings. "Well, I'm going to take a flight around, try to clear my head."

Cloudkicker frowns slightly, looking concerned for her friend. But just like Dash, she keeps those 'mushy' thoughts inside, leaving Rainbow Dash to take off.

Rainbow doesn't know where she's going, but soon enough finds herself gliding above the mid-layer of clouds, recognizing the houses of other pegasi. Most of these, she isn't on particularly good terms with; Her tendency to get into fights and competitions meant most other pegasi around her had a grudge against her, with the only ones she had formed a positive relationship coming from out of town.

But there is one exception, a pegasi of such non-competitive nature that Dash's string of showing off and challenges hadn't hurt her relationship with them one bit. One who is presently watering the small cloud garden in front of her house, and Rainbow Dash swoops down to join her.

"Eek!" Fluttershy jumps as Rainbow Dash lands on all fours on the clouds in front of her. "Oh! Rainbow!" Fluttershy's voice, though surprised and perhaps scared, is just as soft and quiet as ever.

"Sorry, Flutters, didn't mean to scare ya." Rainbow Dash says. Suddenly remembering what had even triggered the race the other day, Rainbow Dash cocks her head at Fluttershy curiously. "Did those colts give you any more trouble?"

"Oh, no, I haven't seen them around." Fluttershy announces. "Of course, I only got home late last night, so I haven't had much time to."

Rainbow Dash blinks. "Huh? Why were you gone?" Something in the back of her mind clicks, and she furrows her brow. "That's right, I guess I didn't see you around yesterday after the race. What happened?"

"Oh, um, well you see, after you took off I fell off the cloud, but some sweet butterflies caught me before I could hit the ground." Fluttershy explains, and Rainbow Dash blanches.

"Wh-what? You almost died?" Rainbow Dash's voice raises an octave, leaving Fluttershy to cringe and cower before the suddenly increased volume, and Rainbow Dash quickly backtracks. "I-I mean... Are you ok?" The filly tries to keep her voice as mellow as possible to comfort the easily startled pegasus.

"Oh, yes. I met all kinds of adorable little woodland critters, and I even got my cutie mark!" Fluttershy exclaims, or at least, comes as close to explaining as the shy yellow pegasus could, turning sideways to show off the three butterflies that now adorn her flank.

Rainbow Dash takes the opportunity to turn her own self sideways and show off the prismatic bolt of lightning and stormcloud on her own. "No way, me too!" She cheers as quietly as she can manage. "That means the two of us are the only ones in our class to have our cutie marks! Lets see 'em try and make fun of us now!" Rainbow Dash proclaims confidently, before her smile fades a little. "Did you hear about what happened after you left?"

Fluttershy shakes her head, and Rainbow Dash explains the events of the previous day—The Sonic Rainboom, how Princess Celestia themself had arrived in Cloudsdale, as Fluttershy looks on in increasing degrees of skepticism.

"Oh my, that certainly is quite the story..." Fluttershy states, looking highly unconvinced, while Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes.

"What are you tryna say? You calling me a liar?" Rainbow Dash demands, triggering the already nervous Fluttershy to duck behind some foliage.

"N-no!" She stammers out, in an incredibly quiet tone that Rainbow can barely hear. "J-just that you like to exaggerate sometimes, th-thats all."

Rainbow Dash grunts, offended. How could her longtime friend think she was lying to her? Sure, the story sounds pretty far fetched but... Rainbow Dash wouldn't make up stories, she was way too cool to need to do that! The truth is already plenty awesome without any exaggeration needed.

“Well, whatever. The point is, I have to decide what I’m going to do now.” Rainbow Dash shrugs off Fluttershy’s disbelief. “Celestia invited me to Canterlot, but said if I go I probably won’t ever become a Wonderbolt. I still don’t know what I’m going to do.” Rainbow Dash feels a little more comfortable talking about this with Fluttershy, compared to Cloudkicker or Gilda she doesn’t feel as much need to posture or keep cool. Though, that is counterbalanced by her continued offense at Fluttershy’s apparent distrust.

“Well, if you really were invited to Canterlot, I don’t think I would want to go.” Fluttershy says uncertainly, shivering in imagined discomfort. “Too many ponies. All staring at you.” Fluttershy gulps nervously, apparently finding the thought alone disquieting. “Are you sure you’d be able to handle that much pressure? I mean, if it really was the princess asking you, that’s alot of expectations to handle.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, ‘Shy.” Rainbow Dash replies dryly, before zipping up into the air and puffing out her chest. “I’m awesome, I can handle whatever the world throws at me!” Even if something doesn’t want me to. Rainbow Dash finds the last thought coming to mind inadvertently, remembering her dream from the previous night.

“Well, if you’re sure about that.” Fluttershy replies meekly. “I’m just telling you what I would do.” Fluttershy shrinks away, and Rainbow Dash tries to resist frowning in response. Fluttershy’s feelings are quite delicate, and she doesn’t want to give her the impression she was upset at her, even if she does feel a little insulted by the implication that she couldn’t handle the pressure.

“Well. I’m going to go back to thinking things over.” Rainbow Dash sighs. “Oh, and by the way... Proof!” Rainbow Dash triumphantly shows off the sigil that had been given to her by Princess Celestia.

Fluttershy’s eyes widen in shock. “T-T-The royal seal! Y-Y-You really did see the princess!” Fluttershy shudders on her feet, while Rainbow Dash looks on smugly.

“Ha, I told you!” Rainbow Dash smirks, while Fluttershy staggers in place. “...Um, Flutters, you ok?” Rainbow Dash’s pride is quickly overtaken by concern as Fluttershy wobbles, and the cyan pegasus quickly swoops down to support Fluttershy, as she collapses, fainted on the spot.

“F-Fluttershy! Fluttershy, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash yelps in shock, holding Fluttershy’s weight up. At least the cloud cover is a suitably comfortable place to collapse suddenly.

After making sure Fluttershy was ok- She woke up just a minute or so after fainting- Rainbow Dash takes off again. She always thinks better when flying, and now is no exception. If she is making such a major decision, she wants to be in the best possible headspace to do so.

As she flies, she keeps thinking of more and more reasons she should stay in Cloudsdale. Not only is this where the Wonderbolts are, but also her parents, and Fluttershy too. Who knew who would be there, if she went to Canterlot? Sure, Cloudkicker lived there most of the time, but she hadn’t known that pegasus for that long, only having met her a few months ago when flight camp started. Canterlot is a complete unknown to a pegasus who has always lived among the clouds. And to boot, even her dreams warned her away from it.

And yet, despite all of that... The distant city to the west feels increasingly more and more alluring. Maybe it's the fear itself; The allure of proving to herself that she wasn’t so easily cowed, that she can reach greater heights than she had ever dreamt of. That she was awesome at everything, not just flight, that she could carve out a new destiny for herself.

Just about when she had finished a single lap around the entire city of Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash realizes with a start that she had made up her mind without even realizing it. As much as she had longed to be a Wonderbolt, to become the pinnacle of flying athleticism, this new possibility is just too alluring to let up. If she turned her back on it, she would spend the rest of her life wondering what she could have been, had she been brave enough to dive into the unknown, to embark on a new path in life she had never considered before. And just like that... Her mind is settled.

Overthinking things isn't my style. I’ve decided what I want, it’s as simple as that. Rainbow Dash tells herself, her speed quickening as she flies back towards home. The trepidation that had filled her heart since the Princesses visit finally begins to give way to the excitement of a new horizon ahead of her.

What will it be like? Though Rainbow Dash had asked herself that question many times since the previous night, the meaning is different this time. It isn’t a statement of fear or uncertainty, but one of eager anticipation, as Rainbow Dash takes another step towards her home with a new sense of resolve and certainty.

Rainbow Dash Flies West

Rainbow Dash trots in through the door of her home with considerably more enthusiasm than she had left it earlier that day. It's still not that late in the day, and her mother and father are currently having breakfast at the table. But as soon as Rainbow Dash opens the door, they both whirl around, faces lighting up.

"Oh, sweetie, you're back! Did you have fun with your friends?" Windy asks, and Rainbow Dash shrugs.

"Maybe. Not important right now. I've thought it over, and I want to go to Canterlot." Rainbow Dash announces, not mincing words. Once she made up her mind, that was all there was to say.

Windy Whistle blinks at Rainbow Dash, surprised. "Just like that? After all that fussing about you did this morning?"

Rainbow Dash nods, and jumps up on one of the chairs to talk to her more directly. "I made up my mind, what more is there to say?" Rainbow Dash states, bluntly. "I mean, I gotta go tell my friends I guess."

Bow walks up by his daughter and ruffles her mane. "There's the Dashie we know, always eager to run off at a moment's notice!" But after that statement, his tone turns more serious. "But, that might be for the best. Cloudsdale will be heading south soon and the trip will only get longer. I'm afraid you'll probably have to fly there, the train from Ponyville isn't operational yet, and the forest is too dangerous to cross on foot." Bow frowns. "That's quite the journey to undertake. I should go with you."

"No!" Rainbow Dash rejects the offer quickly, shaking her head so quickly her mane whips from side to side. "No, no, I can get there on my own just fine.." I do not want my first impression in Canterlot to be getting a noogie from Dad... Rainbow Dash groans internally at the thought.

"But, honey, it could be dangerous..." Windy protests, but the filly just jumps up onto the counter, striking a bold pose.

"You're always telling me how awesome I am, but you don't think I can fly to Canterlot? I could fly there with one wing tied behind my back!" Rainbow Dash boasts. "Watch me!"

"That won't be necessary!" Windy quickly relents, sighing. "Alright, sweetie, we just worry about you, you know that. But you are pretty amazing. If you were any other pony..." Windy shakes her head. "Well, Celestia themself showed up and seemed to think you could do it, given that they didn't give you any other way to reach them... So I guess that's good enough for us." Windy looks at Bow to confirm, receiving a nervous nod in return. "But, I want you to write to us as soon as you get there! And don't you even think about leaving us out of the loop, young lady, understand?" Windy tries to say firmly, although the impact is lost as she starts tearing up at the thought of her daughter going away for a prolonged period of time.

Uh-oh. Better get out of here before the waterworks start. "Well, there's no time to waste! I'd better set off now if I wanna get there in time, Cloudsdale is moving tonight!" Rainbow Dash blurts out, eager to get going.

"Woah there, Dashie, are you sure you're ready to go, just like that?" Bow asks, reluctantly.

But Rainbow Dash was prepared for such a question. "I can’t keep the princess waiting, can I? What if they change their mind? And I’m sure they’ll have whatever I need in Canterlot, anyway, so I should only pack the essentials." Rainbow Dash justifies.

Bow and Windy look at eachother, then back at Dash reluctantly. "You... Have a point." Bow admits. "Still, you should at least pack some basic survival equipment. I know you're a good flier, but... Bad things happen to good fliers all the time." He finishes a bit darkly.

If I agree, I'll be able to get out of here faster. Rainbow Dash nods. "Uh, duh, I'm not stupid." ...Even though I wasn't planning to do anything of the sort until you brought it up. Rainbow Dash keeps that thought inside, wanting to make sure to portray herself as responsible and competent as possible. She flies around the house in a blitz of speed, ransacking the rooms to get whatever she felt she would need- Some light saddlebags that wouldn't weigh her down too much, survival flares, and a snack. In ten seconds flat, she is once again standing in front of her parents, fully packed and tapping her foot impatiently. "There! Can I go now?"

Bow and Windy just sit there with their jaws hanging open in awe for a long moment. "You really are amazing..." Windy eventually breathes out, almost in shock. "We'll come see you in Canterlot as soon as we're able to get time off of work. But you have to remember to write to us! We want to know all about everything you get up to!"

"I... I guess we can't keep you around all day, huh?" Bow replies, frowning and glancing out the window. He would have preferred to think this through more, talk to his daughter for longer. But Rainbow has a point- Flying to Canterlot would be much harder if she waited until after the cloud city moved, and it isn't safe to fly at night. Right now is the best time to go. "But be careful, it would kill us if you got hurt!"

Rainbow Dash nods. That was all the excuse she needs. "Alright Canterlot, here I come!", and with that a prismatic blur bolts out the door.

"You're really going, huh? This is... Really happening?" Gilda sounds unusually hesitant, her cool veneer slipping for just a moment. "You're sure?"

Rainbow Dash nods, confidently. "What’s the point in second guessing myself?"

"Well... Alright. You'll write, right?" Gilda asks, an undertone to her voice that suggests nervousness, even reluctance. Rainbow didn't think she'd ever seen the griffin like this before.

"Uh, yeah, of course." Rainbow Dash replies. That sure is going to be alot of letters I gotta write... Rainbow Dash groans a little inwardly, trying to keep her reluctance from escaping. Writing is... Not really her strong suite. But if all her friends and parents wanted her to write, then write she would.

"That's awesome! As soon as flight camp is over, I'll be able to see you again!" Cloudkicker beams at Rainbow Dash excitedly. "Oh, there's so much I'd wanna show you in Canterlot, just like you showed me here in Cloudsdale! It's going to be awesome!"

"You know it." Rainbow Dash winks and hoofbumps the pegasus, then the griffin in turn- Even if Gilda was oddly hesitant about it. "Well... I don't think I can wait much longer. I've got to get a move out if I wanna get to Canterlot before evening."

"Yeah, alright." Gilda snorts, the cool veneer sliding back into place. "Cloudkicker and I gotta... Go... Practice our flying, anyways."

Rainbow Dash winces a little at the coldness in her friends voice. Just what's going on with her? But despite that, she flaps her wings, pulling into the air. "Alright, you two. Stay cool, now!" Rainbow Dash salutes the two of them one more time before zipping away.

Despite what she said, there was still one more stop she had to make before she left Cloudsdale for real. Returning to her oldest friend Fluttershy's house, she knocks at the door. A faint-looking Fluttershy peaks through the curtains of the window, trying to be stealthy, though Dash saw her immediately. The yellow pegasus then disappears for several moments, before the door slowly opens, with Fluttershy inside looking a little pale.

"H-hello?" Fluttershy asks, unconfidently. "Did you forget something?"

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "No. I just came to say goodbye." She takes a deep breath and puffs out her chest. "I've decided to go to Canterlot."

"Oh, wow..." Fluttershy pins her ears back. "Sounds scary... I'm glad you're going, and not me." She shudders a little. "Though it would be nice to see all the animals there. Ah, maybe one day..." She states, wistfully.

"I don't have long... I gotta get going just about now." Rainbow Dash explains, frowning slightly. She almost wishes she could say more, but she wasn't really one for sentimental words. "I... I'll miss you. But I'll come back up and visit when I'm able, alright?" Rainbow Dash promises, before giving her longest lasting friend a quick, awkward hug.

"Please do... I hope you know, I'll miss you alot, Dash." Fluttershy states. "I'll always be grateful for all the ways you've helped me. I wouldn't be nearly this confident if not for your help."

Rainbow Dash resists scoffing at that notion. She wouldn't exactly describe Fluttershy as confident on a good day... But that was not something that needed saying right now. "Well... I gotta go, I guess." Rainbow Dash finally says, reluctantly. "Duty calls." Rainbow Dash shoots one more salute Fluttershy's way, before zipping off. As she goes, she can only dimly hear the 'Take care of yourself, now!' that Fluttershy practically whispers on Rainbow's way out.

Goodbye's out of the way, Rainbow Dash lands at the northern edge of Cloudsdale one more time, steeling herself for the trip she would be going on. She still isn't entirely sure how she was able to talk her way out here so quickly, but she can't deny a certain feeling of nervousness looking over the vast distance. She is a good flier—That much she knows, even the princess had recognized it. An amazing flier, even. But still, it's a long way to Canterlot, and she had never had to fly that far before. For that matter, she'd never even touched the ground before, or been near it. It was always just... A distant landscape far beneath her. I wonder what it feels like, to walk around on dirt and rocks. Rainbow Dash wonders idly.

Well... Nothing for it but to go, now. Rainbow Dash's wings buzz to life and she leaps from the edge of the city. It's mostly slightly downwards on the way there, so I should mostly just glide to save energy.

As soon as she catches flight beyond the rim of the city, Rainbow Dash feels her nerves relax. Whatever might await her when she arrives, right now, she is free, soaring through the wild blue skies.

The filly closes her eyes, feeling the wind in her face and running through her feathers. This, right here, is what she lived for. That feeling of pure freedom, the rest of the world just passing by in a blur as she soars through the endless blue yonder. Rainbow Dash opens her eyes, just in time to avoid running head-first into a black stormcloud ahead.

Woah! The filly flaps her wings hard, climbing up over the black cloud. That's right, I'm over the Everfree Forest now! Weather out here is unpredictable, I have to be careful. Rainbow Dash reminds herself, dipping down to the top of the cloud, just enough to dip the tip of her wing in the top. It feels different than the white fluffy clouds she is used to, thrumming with electricity and turbulence. Nopony out here to tell me what to do! Just me and the sky! Rainbow Dash grins broader, and with one hoof she scoops up a chunk of stormcloud just as she passes the outer side of it, watching the dark particles released from it as the small chunk of cloud dissolves.

"Ow!" It takes Rainbow Dash a second to realize the voice came from herself, as a jolt of electricity stings her hoof. “Stupid cloud...” She mutters, shaking the rest of the storm cloud on her hoof off and directing her attention back to the landscape ahead.

The landscape ahead is vast and untamed, not a pony in sight, as she soars across the expansive forest. The sky is unruly, with an easterly breeze and dozens of clouds scattered at various altitudes. It is one of the most interesting skies that Rainbow Dash had ever seen, at least. If nothing else, she would have safe places to rest if she needed them.

It’s only when she glances downwards that Rainbow Dash feels a pang of unease. The forest below her has a grim reputation, and its appearance doesn’t do it any favors either; The canopy seems completely impenetrable, thick with dark needles and leaves. Who knows what kind of things stalk the land in the shadows beneath the treetops? As if the weather moving on its own isn’t bad enough...

As if to fuel Rainbow Dash’s slowly developing feeling of paranoia, an unearthly wail echoes from somewhere far below, standing the fur on the pegasus filly’s neck on end. Ugh, creepy. Rainbow Dash shakes her head and tries to keep her attention on her destination in the mountains, to avoid thinking too long about what could have made such a noise.

“Alright, let’s see if I can get this going again...” Rainbow Dash grins broadly, and tries to imagine like she’s in a race, flapping her wings as hard as she can. C’mon, c’mon, Rainboom! Focusing all of her attention, both of her hooves placed perfectly in front of her face to block the wind at the cost of visibility, Rainbow Dash dives forwards.

There’s a feeling of weightlessness as she bolts through the sky, a familiar rush of exhilaration that reminds her again why flying is her joy and passion. She doesn’t even feel the soreness in her wings, long having since trained herself to ignore it and push further. But as she squeezes her eyes to a slit to not be blinded by the wind passing across her face, every fiber of her being straining to go faster... She stops accelerating, capping out.

C’mon, c’mon! Faster! You can do better than this, you know that! Yet despite telling herself that, she can’t seem to squeeze any more force out of her wings, and at long last, she is forced to break off her descent for fear of crashing into the forest, which is now uncomfortably close. From this range, she can actually see a little bit of what’s inside, a small creek flowing between two rocky ridges covered in moss and foliage.

As she passes by, Rainbow Dash stares at the gap in some degree of wonder. She’d never been near the ground before, and here it is, so close to her. A small part of her urges her to go touch down, explore this whole new world before her.

But a much larger part is frightened by the harsh growling sounds of a fight breaking out somewhere below her. Uh, that’s my cue to leave, I think! Rainbow Dash beats her wings at the air again, using her momentum to climb back into the sky.

But now, with the rush of exhilarating speed having worn off, Rainbow feels the soreness in her wings once again. “Ah, shucks, guess I overdid it again.” The filly groans. She’d used up too much of her energy in that attempt, and now she needs to find someplace to rest.

Powering through the pain, Rainbow Dash soars back up until she feels she is at a comfortable distance from the forest below, landing on a modestly sized stormcloud. It's not an ideal rest point, but she doesn’t particularly care right now.

Compared to your standard wispy or fluffy clouds, storm clouds have more of a physical feel to them. They don’t make as nice of a bed, but the feeling of power inside of them has its own kind of charm. I mean, it's where I belong. Just look at my mark. Rainbow Dash glances back at her flank, smirking to herself. She’d just gotten the thing a day ago and hadn’t really taken the time to look at it much, given everything else that had been going on, but now that she took a moment to actually think about it... She had gotten, undeniably, the coolest Cutie Mark possible.

By performing... The Sonic Rainboom. An old mares tale, yet she had done it. Yet, though that thought was meant to be encouraging, psyching herself up for when she would arrive in Canterlot, a pang of fear enters her heart.

I wasn’t able to do it again. Rainbow Dash bites her lip. Was it just a fluke? What if Celestia asks me to show them what I can do, and I can’t do it? The fear only intensifies as she thinks about it more. The whole reason they wanted me to come was because of what I did, but they didn’t even see it! If I can’t do it again, will they think I’m a fraud? Maybe they’ll send me back to Cloudsdale! Rainbow Dash gulps anxiously.

To turn down the offer would have been one thing. She can just imagine bragging to her friends about how she was so cool that Celestia themself had invited her to Canterlot, and she just turned them down to focus on training. But... To get all the way there, only to be rejected as a failure and have to return to Cloudsdale in shame...

The thought is almost enough to turn the pegasus around on the spot. Maybe she can still get away with it, say she had changed her mind?

No! The thought cries out in her mind with surprising ferocity. No... I'm not a coward. Stop doubting yourself, you’re awesome, you know that. Rainbow Dash tells herself, strutting back up to her hooves as she tries to psych herself up again. Do you really want to wait the rest of your life never knowing if you could have made it?

Of course she doesn’t. The doubt vanishes almost as quickly as it had appeared, resolve quickly returning to her. Her endurance, alas, did not... Her wings still feel sore.

C’mon, you don’t wanna just wait around all day, do you? Rainbow Dash groans, stretching out her wings.

But to her surprise, that sentiment is suddenly reinforced when the cloud in front of her opens its eyes, and she realizes suddenly that it isn’t a cloud at all.

“AHHHH!” Rainbow Dash screeches at an inequinely high pitch, silently grateful nopony is around to see her screaming like the little filly she is, as she bolts upwards, adrenaline giving her the strength to move. The “cloud” moves after her, a long sinuous body of stormy gray and silver linings, with limbs stretching out like the wings of a storm.

In a moment, Rainbow Dash realizes what she is staring at; It's a cloud sprite, an aerial predator that makes its home among the clouds, with a serpent-like body and wings that blend into the clouds where they wait in ambush. The usual advice upon meeting one was to keep your cool, not act scared, and certainly don’t fly away—They would give chase if you did, but could be frightened away if you stood your ground.

Well, it was a little late for that. Rainbow could see not only the one flying after her after she had bolted up, but two more companions joining it, all circling around her. Their predator instincts had clearly already kicked in, and Rainbow Dash isn’t going to get out of it that easily.

So instead, she tucks her hooves into her body and purposefully stalls flying upwards. It’s a trick she had tried a few times when showing off her agility at obstacle courses; It allows her to reverse her direction extremely quickly, though at the cost of all forward momentum. But she doesn’t have much of that to begin with, and the cloud sprites are swooping in for the kill.

“Ow! Ow! Get away from me!” Rainbow Dash kicks at the winged serpents as she starts her dive, little bolts of electricity nipping at her from the stormcloud scales of her pursuers. A particularly strong jolt of electricity pulses through her as one of them bites her tail, thankfully just barely missing her flank and getting only rainbow hair in their mouth instead.

That was way too close! Rainbow Dash glances back, panic building up. She would have to take things up a notch if she wants to lose her pursuers, but as tired as she is, she isn't able to fly at top speed, and she doesn't know how much longer her endurance will last.

As another of the cloud sprites swoop after her, Rainbow Dash commits to a corkscrew dive trying to lose them, her wings batting away the pursuers while only sustaining minor electrical burns in the process. This... Isn’t... Good! The canopy is coming up ahead of her, but she can’t afford to pull up. Gulping anxiously, Rainbow Dash dives down below the tree line.

“Woah!” Rainbow Dash screeches as she barely avoids flying directly into a tree trunk. Thankfully, time spent on maneuvering obstacle courses had prepared her for this, now. Having said that, the visibility is far worse here under the canopy, and the obstacle course didn’t include random branches placed directly in front of her. Nor did it tend to feature three wild animals chasing you who would eat you alive if they caught you!

Rainbow Dash can’t afford to look backwards, given how hard it already is to dodge the upcoming trees, but she can hear her pursuers behind her, screeching and swooping after her- sometimes even feeling the air from their wingbeats.

I’m slowing down, I can’t keep this up much longer... Rainbow Dash realizes with a distinct feeling of cold terror. In desperation, she slams her wings down with all the remaining force she can muster, making one last attempt to break free. The pegasus filly soars out of the tree canopy below her, with the three cloud sprites hot on her tail. Almost literally, as her tail is currently sizzling from the little bolts of electricity that keep impacting it. If she had been a vain pony (Or at least, even more vain), Rainbow Dash might have feared that her tail wouldn’t grow back after this; As it is, she is far more concerned with survival.

“Augh!” Rainbow Dash can’t help but cry out as one of the cloud sprites gets a small nip of one of her legs, a thin stream of blood sailing through the sky behind her. Ok, if I can’t outfly them... Then that leaves me only one choice.

All other options exhausted, Rainbow Dash pitches up once more, stalling in midair even as the cloud serpents swoop in for the kill. In a last, desperate attempt, the prismatic filly puts all of her small body’s strength into flipping her body over, reversing her momentum and direction. Just as the cloud sprite dives for her, all of her strength is put into swinging her rear legs down from overhead.

Both hooves land square on the cloud serpent’s face, using its own momentum against it. For a split second, Rainbow Dash and the cloud sprite seem to hang in midair, blinded by a vibrant flash of lightning pulsing out in no direction in particular... And then, the serpent’s limp body falls through the air, smoke trailing from it. But Rainbow Dash hardly notices any of these things, as by far the strongest jolt of electricity pulses through her legs, eliciting a scream of agony from the filly. Blinded by the pain and flash of light, Rainbow Dash's consciousness begins to fade.

No! A voice inside her jolts her eyes open once again, unable to see still, her vision going dark. Fighting through the pain, Rainbow Dash flaps her wings for dear life, catching herself before she can plummet to her death. Not that it would matter much, if the other two cloud sprites decided to attack.

But her gambit had worked. Intimidated by both the thunderous screech that Rainbow Dash had just let out, and the fate of their erstwhile compatriot, the two remaining Cloud Sprites take off in opposite directions, apparently hoping to find less feisty prey.

Rainbow Dash could barely spare a thought for them, as she desperately flaps with the rest of her energy until she reaches the nearest cloud, hoping with all her heart that this one is safe. “Uuuagh...” Rainbow Dash moans, as she barely pulls herself over the side. That had hurt more than anything else in her life ever had, even that one time she had sprained two ankles at once trying to show off on an obstacle course. But it had gotten her away with her life—she hopes.

Uneasily, she glances back at the sky to make sure her two opponents aren't wheeling back around, but thankfully they are nowhere to be seen. Not that I’d be able to do anything about it if they did come back. Rainbow Dash thinks to herself ruefully, staring down at her rear two hooves. They are blackened and scorched, the hoof cracked with vein-like structures of blood stretching up her legs. “That... Doesn’t... Look good...” Rainbow Dash groans out. She tenses the muscles experimentally, hissing in agony but also some measure of relief. They aren’t paralyzed, just damaged. Too horribly damaged to use right now, that’s for sure.

Rainbow Dash feels tears of pain leaking down her face, and fights to hold them back. "C'mon, big fillies don't cry, big fillies don't cry..." Rainbow Dash hisses to herself, trying to ignore the shaking in her voice. “You gotta be strong and keep it together, I’m sure somepony can help you when you get to Canterlot...” She hisses to herself, trying to stoke the fire inside of her. “You just have to make it there. You just have to make it there.” Her wings still work, and that's what is most important. She has to reach Canterlot if she wants to get any medical attention.

She shuts her eyes tightly, trying to block out the throbbing pain in her hooves. Her wings had not had as much of a rest as they would like, but it doesn’t matter; The sun is declining in the sky, and she needs to get a move on. Besides, the pain in her wings doesn't hold a candle to that in her legs—And the pain in her legs isn’t going to go away just by resting, so there isn’t much point in waiting.

So as soon as Rainbow Dash feels she is able to fly once again, she takes off. Canterlot is not too far away now, the mountains loom just ahead of her, close enough that she can make out the individual platforms and towers now, rather than just the palace. “Just a little farther...” Rainbow Dash steels herself. She does not want her first impression upon reaching her destination to be a filly bawling in pain. So she blinks back her tears, and soars with all her remaining might towards her destination.

Wounded Pride

“So then I had to shut the whole place down. It’s crazy what some ponies think they can get away with.” Windlancer chatters away to the other guard on duty at the front gate, shaking his head.

Ruby hooves shakes her head in response, chuckling. “Tell me about it. Noble's have been getting real uppity lately. Think they forget who keeps their precious 'status' intact."

"Uh, hold up. Hooves, do you see that?" Windlancer points a hoof at a flying object coming gradually closer as the two stand at attention.

Ruby Hooves gapes up at the sky, holding a leg over her eyes to shade them. “Is... Is that what I think it is?” The two guards watch in surprise as the shape of the wounded pegasus comes fully into view. “Lancer, go get a doctor. They look hurt.” Ruby Hooves orders, prompting Windlancer to salute quickly and then dash inside the palace.

That leaves only Ruby Hooves standing guard as the wounded prismatic pegasus soars down to the landing in front of the palace, landing with a fierce expression somewhere between “Agony” and “Bursting with fighting spirit”.

“I’m here to... See... The princess!” The filly hisses out between clenched teeth, presenting, to Ruby's surprise, a royal signet hoofring... Just before promptly collapsing on the spot.

“Lemme up! I need to see the princess!” Rainbow Dash shouts from the bed where she is currently restrained. The restraints in question were not there when she arrived—They had been placed afterwards, on account of the pegasus’s persistent attempts to get up despite her injuries.

“You are in no position to go anywhere, much less a royal audience.” The doctor on duty—An odd looking earth pony, with greyish stripes over an ashen coat, named Bonezaw—lectures, harshly. “I have no idea what you’ve been through on your way here, but it’s a miracle you’re in one piece. What did you do, pick a fight with a cloud sprite?”

“Yes.” Rainbow Dash responds bluntly, not recognizing the doctors sarcastic tone. “Three of them. Well, they picked a fight with me, and I was too tired to outfly them, so...”

Bonezaw looks at the filly incredulously. “Why is a filly like you out flying on your own and picking fights with cloud sprites?”

Rainbow Dash puts her chin in the air, fiercely. “I’m here to see the princess.” She states, stubbornly.

The doctor shakes his head, groaning. A good bedside manner is really not his strong point, given that his job mostly consists of helping guards who get injured in training accidents or out on patrol. Dealing with a stubborn filly like this is kind of outside of his wheelhouse. “Well I’m sure the Princess would rather see you properly rested and bandaged than wearing battle wounds like you just got out of a skirmish. So if you’d just sit still and let me patch you up before you do any permanent damage to yourself, I’m sure you’ll see them that much sooner.”

Rainbow Dash reluctantly settles in at that, suppressing the occasional grunts of pain as Bonezaw applies poultices to her wounds. He does not work gently, but efficiently; And though that does mean it hurts more, Rainbow Dash finds herself thankful for that, as it means the experience won’t last as long.

“Ok, now. Drink this, and I’ll be out of your mane.” The doctor offers the filly a tonic, which Rainbow Dash stares at dubiously.

“What... Is it?” She asks, warily.

“Electricity suppressant. It’ll neutralize the Cloud Sprite magic residue and allow your lightning burns to heal easier.” The medic states, directly.

Rainbow Dash eyes the tonic warily, but eventually relents to downing its contents. After all, she is inside the palace of the Princess of the Sun themself... If she can’t trust the ponies here, she can’t trust anypony. The tonic is bitter, a bit salty, as it goes down, and Rainbow Dash makes a disgusted face but resists complaining.

“Now, if you could just expl-“ Before Bonezaw can finish his sentence, he is interrupted by the door being bucked open by a thunderous kick.

“Where is she?” An imperious voice demands from the other side of the room, and the doctors belligerent tone instantly disappears as he slams down to the ground and lowers his head.

“P-Princess! She’s right over here!” The doctor stammers out, momentarily taken aback before regaining his cool. “She’s been asking to see you ever since she got here.”

Rainbow Dash picks out the clatter of hooves on tile for just a moment before the princess themself wheels around the curtain beside her. The filly tries to force a weak smile at them, but the Princess is apparently not ready to focus on her just yet.

“What is her condition? Is she safe?” Celestia demands, a certain ferocity entering their voice which Rainbow Dash had not heard at all when the princess had visited her in Cloudsdale.

Bonezaw cringes at the forcefulness of the demand. “I-I’ve patched her up as well as able. She had electricity burns but her pegasus magic was able to keep them from damaging her nervous system, so she should make a full recovery, other than some scars. Some of her veins popped and there was some severe swelling as well as cracked skin, so I gave her a poultice and electricity neutralizer to prevent further damage. She's in rough shape, but I’ve seen much worse.”

Celestia breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. Leave us, I wish to speak with her alone.” The medic nods affirmative, picks up his medical equipment, and quickly leaves the room. The princesses gaze softens as they look back over Rainbow Dash, sitting by the bedside.

Great, the first time they see me in Canterlot, and I’m bandaged up and bedridden. What a great second impression. Rainbow Dash winces, but before she can say anything, Celestia speaks.

“I’m surprised to see you so soon, my little pony. What happened?” All the fervor of mere moments ago had completely left Celestia’s voice, leaving it gentle and reassuring. Rainbow could swear that Just the sound of it eases the pain in her legs. As Celestia speaks, her horn lights up with a gentle glow, and a thin thread of golden magic siphons from the horn before swirling into Rainbow Dash's legs. There is an odd buzzing sensation as it courses through her veins, and the pain in her legs fades away.

“What did you do?” Rainbow Dash can’t help but gasping in relief. She hadn’t even truly realized just how much pain she had been in until it was suddenly taken away.

Celestia looks exhausted as they fix Rainbow Dash in a tired, but caring, gaze. “I just lent you some of my magic to aid your body in repairing itself, as well as shutting down some of your pain receptors. It would still be best if you don’t move too much, as you might injure yourself without realizing it. But at least you can be comfortable while you recover, and speed up your recovery as much as possible.” Celestia sighs. “Now, you answer my question. What happened? And how did you get here so quickly?”

Rainbow Dash winces, hoping nothing she had gotten up to would get her in trouble. “Well, um, I decided this morning I wanted to take you up on your offer. Now, Cloudsdale was going to move south tomorrow, so I didn’t have a lot of time to leave, so after I told everypony, I flew here.”

Celestia stares at the rainbow filly in shock. “You... Flew across the Everfree, by yourself?” She asks. Rainbow Dash hesitantly nods her head. “I... Expected you would wait until Cloudsdale was over a railway, then your parents would bring you here. I never thought... You would just come here directly.” Celestia fixes her in their gaze, and Rainbow Dash finds she can’t look away. “Do your parents know where you are?”

Rainbow Dash nods again, and Celestia breathes out a sigh of relief. “They must have a lot of faith in you to allow you to make the journey on your own.” Celestia keeps the thought that they might just not care enough within themself. From what they had seen the previous day, Rainbow Dash seems very well loved. “Then... How did you get hurt?” Celestia’s voice is gentle again, and Rainbow Dash sighs in relief- At least for the moment, it seems she is in the clear.

“Uh, while I was flying over the forest, I landed on a cloud to rest for a bit.” Rainbow Dash starts, conveniently leaving out the detail of what had exhausted her—Failing to perform another Sonic Rainboom. “But it turned out it was a cloud sprite nest. I tried to escape, but I was too tired to outfly them, so I was forced to fight... And this happened.” Rainbow Dash motions at her legs.

Celestia’s hoof goes up to her mouth as she blinks in shock. “My goodness...” She mutters. She had known the filly was tremendously talented, but this... This is just unprecedented. She knew seasoned soldiers that are less brave than this... Or at least, less reckless. “I’m relieved that you are alright. Or at least, relatively alright. I simply couldn’t conscience it if something were to happen to you because of my offer.” And with that, Rainbow Dash suddenly finds herself wrapped up in an unexpected embrace from the most powerful pony on Equus.

“H-huh? Am I not in trouble?”

“What? In trouble? Heavens, no! I’m just thankful that you’re alright.” Celestia steps back, raising back up to their full height towering above Rainbow Dash. “But in all seriousness, please do not try anything so reckless again. It did not even occur to me that you would come to Canterlot the same way I did. And at such a young age, too. I’m astonished you were able to make the journey in just one day.” The monarch clears their throat, returning to a more stoic and serious tone of voice and expression. “So, you’ve chosen to take me up on my offer, then..?” They ask, showing an odd amount of hesitation.

Rainbow Dash nods yet again. Should I tell her that I wasn’t able to perform the rainboom again..? No... No, she can’t know. The thought of disappointing the regal pony before her is just too much.

“Well. It shall be my honor to teach you all that I can, my little pony.” Celestia bows their head before Rainbow Dash, causing the small pegasus filly’s cheeks to warm up. The princess of all Equestria, and here they are, showing her deference. What is up with that? Is she dreaming? It's just too surreal. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here, for now. At least until you recover enough to walk. We don’t want to aggravate your injuries any further, after all. But once you are healed, we shall see about getting you a proper room in the palace, near my own quarters.” Celestia dictates in the benign, tender way they do.

“A-Alright.” Rainbow Dash stammers, taken aback by the care being shown for her. But while she is getting that attention, there are a couple more things she needs, she remembers suddenly. “Oh! Can I have a quill and a few scrolls? My folks back at home would want to know I’m ok, so I need to send them letters.” Rainbow Dash asks, followed by her stomach gurgling hungrily. Blushing slightly, she rubs her mane—Or at least what is left of it, given how much of it had burnt away to smoke earlier that day. “...um, and maybe something to eat? I’m starving.”

Celestia smiles at the pegasus, and nods their head. “Of course, Rainbow Dash. I'll have it right in.”

As Celestia stands up, and strides out of the room, all Rainbow Dash can think about is the bizarre course her life has suddenly taken, with the solar princess themself waiting on her as she rests in bed. If I’m dreaming... Please don’t wake me up yet.

Much to Rainbow Dash’s shock, the food and quill she'd requested is not been delivered by a servant or chef or nurse or anything of the sort, but by Celestia themself. By the time she has gotten over her surprise from that and finished her meal, it is well past sundown and the sky outside of the window is pitch black.

Given her struggles through that entire day, and how early she'd gotten up that morning, Rainbow Dash feels absolutely exhausted. But despite that, she can’t quite allow herself to sleep just yet. There is still one last thing she has to do.

The filly stares down at the scroll in front of her, clenching the quill in between her teeth, wondering what to write. She is not a very wordy pony in the first place, and the exhaustion of that day’s events did not help that, but she feels she needs to at least write something to tell her parents she is ok.

Hey mom, hey dad.

Rainbow Dash briefly considers writing about their injury, but quickly decides against it. Her parents don’t need to be given reasons to worry about her. But, that doesn’t mean she can’t brag about the fight.

Some cloud sprites bugged me on the way here, but I gave them what-for and they left me alone after that. Now I’m here in Canterlot, in the palace. I got here at around sundown, and I already got to see the princess!

They tell me I’ll be getting my own room in the palace, and the food here is to die for. Don’t know yet when I’m going to start lessons, though. I’ll keep ya posted.

From, Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash reviews the letter she had just written, only to be interrupted by another pony’s voice.

“You ready for lights out?” Bonezaw asks. “Celestia didn’t tell me when you were supposed to go to sleep, but I imagine they want you well rested for tomorrow.”

Rainbow Dash stretches out the scroll she had just written with barely-legible hoofwriting. “Um, sure, but could you drop this off at the mail office? It needs to go to Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof in Cloudsdale.”

The doctor just gives her a dull, unimpressed stare. “Really, kid? I’m a doctor, not a...” Bonezaw sighs, remembering the gentle way Celestia had treated the filly, and reluctantly reaches out his hoof. “Alright, just give it here, I’ll make sure it gets to them.”

Rainbow Dash gives the stallion a grateful smile as he takes the letter, before shutting the lights off and closing the door behind him. Done with her letter, and in surprisingly good comfort following Celestia’s spell, Rainbow Dash closes her eyes and allows herself to get some rest.

The next few days are dreadfully boring for the young pegasus. At one point, another pony is also hospitalized in the same room—A unicorn guardspony, with a dappled dark blue coat with white spots and bright white mane. But other than that, Rainbow Dash is largely left alone while she rests and waits for her hooves to heal enough. Although they don’t hurt, courtesy of Celestia, that doesn’t mean she’s free to get up; apparently, she could hurt herself more if she put weight on her hooves too early.

It’s on the fourth day when Bonezaw comes in for a routine bandage change and examination. Rainbow Dash heavily considers just bolting out of there as soon as her bandages come off. She is just so tired of sitting still, it's agonizing for a pegasus who is as obsessed with flight and movement as her.

But before she can make any admittedly stupid decisions, the doctor’s words cut through her distraction. “Well, it looks like you’re healing well. I think it’s about time we got you on your feet.”

“H-huh? I can go?” Rainbow Dash utters, excitedly.

The medic looks up at her with suspicion. “No. I said you can stand. If you are doing ok, then you can slowly start trying to move around, and we can see about getting you out of here. Normally you would have been in here for a while longer, but you seem to be healing remarkably quickly.” The medic fixes Rainbow Dash in a serious, somber stare. “You should thank Celestia for that.”

It takes Rainbow Dash a minute to realize that the medic means that statement literally, and not just as a saying. “Why? What did she do exactly? I remember her taking the pain away but, she didn’t really explain what the magic actually did. It didn’t stitch up my wounds or anything.”

Bonezaw shakes his head. “No, it wouldn’t, that is my job. Not to say it would be impossible to stitch up wounds with magic, just... Exceedingly, and unnecessarily, exhausting. Its like... Hm, how would I explain...” The medic pauses for a moment, thoughtfully. “So everypony has magical reserves—yes, even earth ponies—that fight to keep us healthy. They protect us from harm, and help us recover when we are hurt. That is why seasoned guardsponies can survive injuries that would kill a lesser pony outright. The princess just... Reinforced yours with their own to bolster your natural healing processes. Thats why you don’t have any scar tissue, otherwise you’d likely have some ugly lightning-shaped scars crisscrossing your hooves the rest of your life.” The doctor’s tone shifts from instructive to more grim and somber. “The Princess does not do that for just anypony, they don’t have the endurance to do so willy-nilly. Even guardsponies usually only get the treatment if their wounds are life-threatening. You should feel extremely grateful.”

Rainbow Dash is taken aback. The princess did that just for her..? But why? She can’t understand why the monarch of the nation has taken such a keen interest in her, even if she is awesome. A sinking feeling emerges in her gut as she remembers that she hadn’t been able to repeat the Sonic Rainboom... Will the princess be angry, learning that she had come here under false pretenses and wasted her time? She can't keep up the ruse forever, sooner or later the princess would want to see her perform the feat again.

That sense of fear is almost enough to counteract Rainbow’s excitement at being able to stand up. Almost. “Alright, well, I can get up now, then?”

“Slowly.” The doctor cautions. “No tough filly acts, now. You’re likely to feel faint after being stuck in bed for this long. If you need somepony to lean on you had best tell me right away.”

Rainbow Dash is tempted to ignore the warning and just run, but reluctantly admits to herself that taking the time to carry out the medic’s orders will probably serve her far better in the long run. The sooner she jumps through his hoops the sooner she can be out of here.

And it's good that she did, because when Rainbow Dash slowly slides out of bed and places her hooves on the ground, she feels fine for a moment. And then, she starts shaking on her legs, her vision turning dark and hearing hazy as an intense feeling of wooziness washes over her. “Ugh...” She murmurs, leaning on the bed for support while the doctor holds her by the other hoof.

“Are you alright?” Rainbow’s vision clears, though the pins and needles sensation throughout her entire body has not.

“Y-yeah, I’m ok. Just... Woozy.” Rainbow Dash reports, shaking her head to try and clear the confusion.

“That’s normal. Your body is used to lying down, so it doesn’t know how to keep getting enough blood to your head. You’ll just need to take it slow for a bit, you should feel better soon enough.” Rainbow Dash nods in response to the instructions and starts unsurely putting one hoof in front of the other.

The ground feels different to anything she’d been on before. If stormclouds feel more physical than normal clouds, then this is far more physical than either. Instead of the soft, spongy feeling that the “ground” in cloudsdale has, the rock floor here is solid, hefty, and sturdy.

The feeling gives the filly a small shock. She is here, for real. Somehow, in all the time she had been laying in bed, it hadn’t really set in. But now, feeling the unfamiliar ground, the full weight of it sets in upon her. She’d flown all the way to Canterlot, by herself!

After Rainbow Dash had successfully crossed the room a couple times, the strength quickly returning to her legs once her body was able to get used to it, Bonezaw signs off on their clipboard. “Well, you seem alright. I’ll walk you out to your quarters, but you will have to check back in here in a week to make sure you are healing properly. If anything happens that aggravates your injury, you will have to come back here again. Consider that a threat.” The doctor smirks, as if amused by his own jest. “So take it easy unless you want to spend another night in bed.”

Rainbow Dash gulps. That point certainly cut right to the heart of it, so she nods. “Y-yeah, you got it.”

First Impressions

After being shown to her quarters, Rainbow Dash is left alone in the cozy chamber, on the mid-floor of some tower or another. Clearly, somepony had been in here to make the room a little more comfortable, familiar, for the pegasus; the ground has been covered in a cloud carpet, and the furnishings are all vaguely reminiscent of Cloudsdale, though there is still a certain air of Canterlotian sophistication to the room.

This is at least 200% bigger than my room back home. Rainbow Dash thinks to herself, diving onto the bed which is presently far larger than she actually needs, flopping over onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. Instead of familiar fluffy clouds, fine marble stonework hangs over Rainbow Dash.

The bed is soft and comfortable enough that Rainbow Dash is a little tempted to stay in it, but having spent so much time in a hospital bed lately, in no time at all she hops back up to her hooves, flapping her wings and then taking off. Lazily, she floats over to the window where she can look out over the city beyond the palace. On the way in, she had been too distracted to really take in the sights.

Wow, everything is so fancy... Rainbow Dash gapes. It's not quite as different from Cloudsdale as she might have expected, it at least looks more similar to the pegasid architecture back home than most towns or cities. She has to imagine that it's much harder to build, though, buildings built out of solid rock and glass rather than clouds. That will definitely take some getting used to.

I'm free to go now, right? That means nopony will stop me from going out for a walk. Rainbow Dash reasons to herself, heading over to the door. She can get settled in later, right now, she is sick of laying still and just wants to get moving. Even if she has to take it easy, any movement is better than nothing.

It doesn't take much prodding from her own brain to convince Rainbow Dash to take off to explore the palace. Despite that, as she pokes her head out of the door, she still looks side to side cautiously as if worried somepony would stop her, before she takes off down the spiral stairs of the tower.

There are a couple floors between her and where the tower connects with the rest of the palace, which Rainbow Dash passes by without much thought. In short order, she is wandering down the unfamiliar hallways of the palace, not entirely sure where she is actually headed. The echoing clip-clop of her hooves on the stone tiles beneath her distracts her, unfamiliar to a pegasus who'd spent her entire life until now walking on clouds.

Just as she comes to the end of a hallway, she practically walks directly into a guardspony. At least, that's what she assumes he is, given that he is wearing armor, but he looks like no guardspony she'd ever seen; A unicorn with a dazzling white mane, pale blue coat, and bright golden eyes, wearing a silver breastplate with scale armor underneath in stark contrast to the usual golden armor of the palace guard. But the main confusing factors are his slouched, casual posture and age. By Rainbow Dash's reckoning, he looks only a handful of years older than her, in the tall-but-lanky stage most ponies went through.

"Woah, there! And just how did you get in here, huh little explorer?" The guardspony asks, cocking his head at her curiously. "The palace isn't open for visitors to just walk around, ya know." Despite that statement, his gentle smile dismisses any worries that Rainbow Dash was in trouble.

"Uh, I'm supposed to be here!" Rainbow Dash proclaims, standing upright. "I'm just um... Looking for the princess, right now." She states, hopefully.

The guardspony raises a brow, skeptically, but only for a moment before a look of understanding dawned on his face. "Ah, you must be Rainbow Dash! I remember 'Lestia talking about you. So you got released from the hospital ward, huh?" He chuckles. "I think my brother is still in there. Silly doc doesn't know how to treat fillies and colts, but he's good at his job at least. I'll take you to the princess, they'll wanna see you." The unicorn smiles warmly and jerks back with his head.

Rainbow Dash hurries along after. "Um, thanks, sir..." Rainbow Dash trails off, realizing that she hadn't gotten the young stallions name.

"Mooncrescent!" The stallion flashes a smile back at her, revealing a pair of sharp snaggleteeth. "I'm part of the Royal Companions! Lemme tell ya, Celestia took off right quick after you did that Rainboom. Didn't even have time to say goodbye to us." Mooncrescent giggles, trotting along down a long hallway lined with doors and large arched windows, oblivious to Rainbow Dash lagging behind as the filly looks all around in wonder. A handful of other guards pass by, giving Rainbow Dash confused looks, but since she is with Mooncrescent she doesn't get bothered.

Mooncrescent reaches a particular door that seems to be his destination, an ornate door with intricate patterns in gold leaf running down it. Mooncrescent raises a hoof to kick the door open, only for it to magically swing open with the aura of Celestia's magic around it, leaving the Princess of the Sun standing on the other side staring down at Mooncrescent perplexed.

"I believe I told you to stop opening my door that way." Celestia states, tone somewhere between irritation and bemusement. "Were you going to kick me...?"

"Heh, sorry, Princess." Mooncrescent gives a half smile to the Alicorn and quickly bows his head; not nearly as formal as a proper bow, but still a show of some deference. "Somepony here wanted to see you." Mooncrescent steps aside, revealing Rainbow Dash standing behind him.

Celestia looks surprised, and leans over. "My, are you supposed to be up?" Celestia asks, concern writ on their features.

Rainbow Dash nods. "Mhm! The doctor said I was free to get up now, I just had to check back in later."

Celestia raises a brow. "And he didn't send for me? I'm going to have to have some words with him, later." The Princess says, strictly, before kneeling down to speak to Rainbow Dash at more-or-less eye level. "I was just on my way to lunch, and there is somepony I would like very much like you to meet. Would you care to join me?"

Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise. There is something decidedly uncanny about the way Celestia talks to her; Like they are talking to an equal, and not a princess speaking to a filly commoner. Even most regular adults didn't do that, let alone ones that are royalty to boot. "Um, of course!" Rainbow Dash responds, trying to hide her sense of bewilderment. Celestia turns to Mooncrescent and narrows their eyes.

"Incidentally, aren't you supposed to be off training about now..?" The Princess asks pointedly.

Mooncrescent nods. "I was on my way when I stumbled on this little explorer here. I'll get back to it now." He smiles while saluting before trotting off, an odd bounce in his step as he goes.

"Now, my little pony, follow me. Your timing could not be better, I was just on my way to lunch." Celestia beckons with a wing, making sure Rainbow Dash is following before trotting off.

Rainbow Dash scampers after them, looking around in a daze. "Princess Celestia?" She asks, unsurely but trying to keep the foibles in her voice to a minimum.

Celestia looks down at her with an expression of keen interest. "Hmm? Is something the matter?"

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. "No, no. It's just... When I was in the medical ward, the doctor told me that the magic you used on me was really difficult, and you normally don't even use it on guardsponies. So... I was just wondering, why did you do that for me?"

Celestia clucks their tongue in a playful display of annoyance. "My, Bonezaw tattled on me, huh?" The princess giggles—A sound Rainbow Dash never thought she would hear. The monarch of all of Equestria, and here they are giggling like a schoolfilly. "I asked you to come down here personally, without thinking of how you would get here. I made assumptions that resulted in you getting hurt, and I simply couldn't conscience if such a brave young filly like you had to bear scars of that error of judgement her whole life." Celestia explains. "Besides, since your body is smaller, it didn't require as much magic as it would have for an older pony."

Rainbow Dash falls silent, in an unusually thoughtful mood, as Celestia leads her up the same spiral staircase that lead to her room, stopping on the floor below at a landing Rainbow Dash had not paid any attention to when she passed by earlier that day. "Now, before we enter, try not to startle the pony inside. She is quite nervous, and does not need anything more to worry about. Do you think you can handle that?"

Once Rainbow Dash nods affirmation, along with an "Mhm!" sound, Celestia opens the large doors before them. Inside is a surprisingly cozy room, complete with a crescent shaped table and intricate fireplace within which dances pale violet flames. A large window on one side of the room showcases a view of the lower parts of the palace. And sitting at the table, to Rainbow Dash's surprise, is a purple unicorn filly of about the same age as her, sitting with an anxious, bolt-upright posture, eyes wide with dark bags underneath them.

The surprise that Rainbow Dash registers upon seeing the filly is mirrored by the other pony upon seeing Rainbow Dash. "My apologies for the delay, Twilight Sparkle, I was held up. Do you mind if Rainbow Dash here joins us for lunch as well?" Celestia asks in the characteristically warm manner they seem to ask everything.

Twilight pauses for just a second. "O-of course not, Princess!" She nods her head sporadically.

Celestia just smiles and strides into the room. "Go ahead and take a seat, Rainbow. Perhaps you can make friends with Twilight here, while I get lunch ready for us."

Rainbow Dash sits down at the opposite end of the table from the unicorn, but despite herself can't seem to focus on anything other than the princess. This is not going at all how she had expected it to, seeing the solar princess personally taking a pan of soup off the fire and dishing up bowls for each of them is utterly surreal. She'd expected chefs, servants scurrying to and fro, but instead... It's just the three of them, in a cozy room just below her bedroom.

The same confusion seems present on Twilight's face. Actually, considerably more, as Twilight is currently staring at Celestia as if they are a sleep paralysis demon. Her eyes flick between the other filly and the princess, barely contained panic screaming behind them.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash has some experience dealing with anxious fillies from Fluttershy. "Hey, so, you're name's Twilight, right? You doing ok?" She asks in what she hopes is a reassuring and empathetic voice.

The reaction she gets is not what she had expected. Twilight's eyelid twitches spasmodically. "I'M NOT NERVOUS." Her breathe comes in short gasps as she shouts at a far louder tone than Rainbow Dash was expecting, prompting the pegasus to recoil in surprise. "NOPE. I'M FINE. NO PROBLEM." The purple unicorn's face curves upwards in a rictus grin.

"O-kaaaay..." Rainbow Dash leans back and away. Clearly, the filly before her is crazy, and her experience is not as useful as she'd hoped.

Thankfully, Celestia arrives at the table just then, levitating three bowls of soup before themself and both fillies, along with large soup spoons to eat it with. The dish before them looks positively delicious, two halves of a hard boiled egg floating in a dark broth filled with noodles, potatoes, carrots, and some other vegetables not even Twilight recognizes. "My apologies if it's not to your tastes, I'm afraid I didn't have time to ask you two what kinds of food you like. I hope it is palatable, regardless." Celestia apologizes preemptively, and takes a bite, making a delighted "Mhm!" sound as they swallow.

"D-Did you make this yourself!?" Twilight gapes in astonishment at the monarch.

Celestia just gives the purple filly a playful wink. "Of course. You'd be amazed at all the things you pick up over more than a thousand years. Cooking is one of the simple pleasures of life."

Twilight stares down at the dish, mouth agape. "Is it not to your liking? I can always try to make something else, if you'd prefer." Celestia prods gently, resting a hoof on Twilight's, triggering the unicorn filly to look back up with shock.

"N-No, It looks delicious! See!?" She quickly starts digging into the food, simultaneously trying to do so in the most polite and formal manner possible while also showing suitable gusto for eating.

Rainbow Dash just stares blankly at the shenanigans unfolding before her, then back down at her own soup. Shrugging, she takes the spoon with her wing and lifts it to her mouth.

Rainbow Dash is not a pegasus with very exacting tastes. Her usual idea of a good meal is slamming as many types of carbohydrates as possible together and stuffing the resulting concoction into her mouth. But even she can tell the instant that she places the spoon in her mouth that this is something truly special; every flavor perfectly balanced and complementary to eachother, with only the finest ingredients and subtle but fulfilling taste. She can't even count how many distinct components she can make out in the dish, savory and salty and sweet and a little bit spicy all at the same time.

"This ish really good!" Rainbow Dash shouts out, mouth partially full. Twilight stares at her aghast, as if she had just committed a capital offense on the spot.

But Celestia just gives a genuine smile. "Well, I'm glad you both like it. Now that we're all settled in, allow me to introduce you two properly. Rainbow Dash, this is my other student, Twilight Sparkle. She performed a great magical feat by hatching a dragon egg, empowered by your Rainboom. And Twilight Sparkle, this is Rainbow Dash, also my student. She was the source of the Sonic Rainboom that enabled you to hatch Spike."

Both ponies stare at each other as if seeing the other pony for the first time. After a long pause, it is Twilight who ends up breaking the silence. "You're the pegasus who performed the Sonic Rainboom? But... But... Your wing loading is way too high to exceed the speed of sound!" Twilight stammers out incredulously. "You'd have to flap your wings at least a hundred times a second!"

Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes at Twilight. "What, are you calling me a liar too? Why doesn't anypony believe me?" Rainbow Dash growls. Just please don't ask me to prove it, I really don't think I can...

"Hold on, you two. Twilight, I flew to Cloudsdale personally to investigate, and confirmed that Rainbow Dash was indeed the source. She has a well of talent and magical power unmatched by any her age save perhaps yourself. And Rainbow Dash, there is no need to get defensive, I believe Twilight was simply surprised." Celestia chides.

Twilight freezes up again, then nods her head, drooping slightly. "I... Yes, of course Princess, I'm sorry for doubting you." Twilight apologizes, a definitive sound of shame in her voice.

"Not at all, Twilight. You are my student, and as any student it is right to question your teachers. And even princesses have been known to make mistakes, from time to time." A flicker of a shadow passes across Celestia's face, and they finish the statement with a darkly muttered "Perhaps graver mistakes than most."

But Twilight doesn't seem to notice the mood of the last statement, and furrows her brow in confusion and wonder. "Just, if she really did it... Could I see? I'm not meaning to doubt, I just don't understand how it's possible."

Rainbow Dash cringes. Here it comes. The moment I've been waiting for. Do I admit I can't do it? Do I try to make excuses? The possibilities whirl through her mind as she hesitates, slowly opening her mouth to respond.

But before she can, Celestia cuts in. "Rainbow Dash was injured on the flight here. She is still recovering, and I'm sure she isn't ready to perform at full strength again yet. Even after she heals, she may need some time to get back into shape as well."

Twilight wilts in disappointment, but nods her head. "Yes, Princess, I understand."

There is a long moment of silence, which Rainbow Dash uses to slide the chair around the table closer to Twilight and nudge her in the side with a foreleg. "Sooo... You hatched a dragon, huh? That's pretty awesome, I gotta say." Her voice is tinged with curiosity. She'd never seen a dragon before, but she would certainly like to.

The question seems to raise Twilight out of her stupor, and she glances back and forth between the two ponies present. "Oh, yes! His name is Spike!" Twilight beams, and looks over at Celestia. "Can we... Can we go see him?" She asks, a pleading look in her eyes.

Celestia nods their head. "Of course, my dearest students. And, I think it might be a good time to take a tour of the palace, while we're at it. If you're going to be making your homes here, I should like you to get a feel for the place."

Revelations

"Try your best to remember the path we're taking. Our first stop is your new rooms, which should be all ready for you two by now." Celestia explains as they walk, climbing up the stairs of the tower. "Your rooms are just below mine, so if you need anything, you should be able to find me readily enough. Rainbow Dash, that door leads to your room." Celestia motions at the chamber Rainbow Dash had already entered earlier that day, before going up to another of the three doors on the landing. "And Twilight, this is where you will be staying." Celestia raises their hoof and knocks on the door three times.

"Coming!" A voice calls out from within, and momentarily afterwards the door is opened to reveal a pastel pink alicorn with a long mane which curls upwards at the end.

Twilight and the new alicorn both do a double take, while Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise. Why is there another alicorn she hasn't ever heard of!? Only, she doesn't look quite the same as Celestia. She doesn't have the same aura of majesty, or air of casual grace that Celestia has. Rather, she looks more like a unicorn who just happens to also have wings.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!" Rainbow Dash's thoughts are cut off by the most ridiculous little song and dance number performed by Twilight and the new alicorn on the spot.

Glancing back up at Celestia with bewilderment, Rainbow Dash finds her own surprise mirrored on the Princesses face. "You two... know eachother?" Celestia asks, raising a brow.

The unfamiliar alicorn turns to Celestia with a broad grin plastered on her face. "Of course! Do you remember when you had me foalsit for Canterlot nobles? Twilight was one of the fillies I foalsat for!" She beams at the purple unicorn filly, who is grinning ear to ear in turn.

Rainbow Dash just blinks. "Um. A little help, here? Who is this, why was an alicorn foalsitting, and how have I never heard of them?"

Celestia steps in. "My apologies, allow me to introduce you two. This is princess Cadance. I took her in after her transformation into an Alicorn. You can think of her as my niece. As far as why she was foalsitting, she was... Understandably anxious after her impromptu promotion, and needed something to focus on."

Rainbow Dash frowns. There is something bugging her about the explanation she was just given, but she can't quite put a hoof on it. Thankfully, Twilight has no such issue, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia, I think I must have misheard you. Did you refer to them as 'her'?" Twilight asks, raising a hoof in confusion. It was a well established fact that alicorns were universally genderless upon their ascension. Sometimes they continued to use titles or honorifics from their original gender before their ascension, but she has certainly never heard of an alicorn being outright referred to as female or male.

But the question seems to trigger an odd sense of tension in the air, as there is a slight but noticeable coldness to Celestia's features as they regard Cadance, the younger Alicorn blushing and looking away. "I-I'll explain this one, your majesty." Cadance stammers out, before turning to Twilight and kneeling down on her haunches. "Do you see my cutie mark?" Cadance asks, softly.

Twilight looks over at it, then nods slowly. "It has to do with that. My special gift is an affinity for romantic love, but in order to fully appreciate that, I needed to be able to bear foals myself. So..." There is an awkward silence for a long moment. Rainbow Dash glances up at Celestia, noting with a small pang of dread an unusually imperious, cold expression on the monarch's face. "...My special talent allowed me to restore my original form. So, I am a bit of an exception to the rule."

Twilight blanches at the explanation, which flies in the face of everything she knew about Alicorns, while Rainbow Dash simply takes it in stride. "Alright, that's all well and good, but how come I've never heard of you? How is that even possible?" Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes suspiciously at the princess. Twilight wants to scream at the cyan pegasus to quit being so abrasive before she gets thrown in the dungeon, but Celestia simply regards her with a patient gaze.

"Cadance was transformed under... Less than ideal circumstances." Celestia states, delicately. "I don't believe I am at liberty to say more, for Cadance's sake. But suffice it to say, she is not yet well known outside of Canterlot circles." Cadance shudders at the mention, and shakes her head.

"I would rather we don't discuss that right now, if it's alright." Cadance requests uncomfortably, before quickly changing the topic. "So, why are you all here? And just who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

Celestia drapes a wing over each of their two new students. "This here is Rainbow Dash, a pegasus from Cloudsdale. She not only performed a Sonic Rainboom, but also managed to fly all the way to Canterlot from Cloudsdale in a single day. I extended her an offer to take her in as my personal student." Rainbow Dash puffs out her chest in pride at the glowing praise, flaring out her wings to look more grandiose. "And of course, if you have met Twilight, you should not be surprised I have also taken her in as well."

Cadance frowns, looking at each filly in turn. "Celestia... Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean... After what happened with Sunset Shimmer..." Twilight blinks and looks up at the two alicorns, wondering what they were talking about.

Celestia bites their lip in discomfort. "I... Have learned much from my mistakes, and will not make the same ones again. Twilight has immense magical potential that should not be squandered because of my own personal failings. She was able to hatch the egg from the Canterlot entrance exam, while empowered by Rainbow Dash's rainboom."

Cadance blinks in surprise, and looks down at Twilight with both newfound respect, and a sense of apprehension. "She did what!? But... That egg is..."

Celestia just nods. "Yes, that egg is simply a rock." That simple statement, so innocuous in tone, completely shatters Twilight's world, her own jaw dropping open.

"Wait, what? But... I... I hatched it!" Twilight blurts out, brain scrambling in confusion.

Celestia quietly giggles, and leans down to speak to her more directly. "That test is usually made to see how unicorns deal with failure, and how much effort they are willing to put in to make something impossible work. When you hatched that egg, you did not simply heat up a dragon egg, but transformed a painted rock into life on the spot. I was going to tell you later, but, well, now is as good a time as any." Celestia shrugs, seemingly in good spirits once more.

Cadance bows her head to each of the two fillies in turn, lightly. "Well, its a pleasure to meet both of you." A light suddenly seems to flick on in Cadance's head as she connects the dots. "Ah, then this must be your new room! I was wondering why Celestia had asked to have Spike put here, next to Sunset Shimmer's old room. But if you hatched, or, I guess I should say, created him, then it makes sense he'd be staying in your room."

Celestia nods. "Very astute, Cadance. I am just now giving these two fillies a tour of the palace so that they can find their way around. But first things first, Twilight wants to see Spike. She hasn't gotten to see them since the entrance exam, you understand."

Cadance gives a soft smile and steps aside, inviting everypony in. "Of course, come right in! He's sleeping in the crib right now. Just be quiet, the noise suppression spell I cast only blocks noise from outside the room."

Celestia and Cadance stand back to allow Rainbow Dash and Twilight to stand close to the crib where the baby dragon is sitting.

"That's the dragon?" Rainbow Dash sounds disappointed, reaching out a hoof to poke the baby dragon in the cheek. "They're, uh... A lot wimpier than I expected."

"Well, why don't you try conjuring life up out of nothing." Twilight states defensively. "Maybe we should just be happy they're alive at all."

While the two fillies continue their inane discussion, Cadance looks on uneasily, taking Celestia to the side to speak to them quietly. "Are you sure about this, Celestia? This... Dragon was born without parents or love. We don't know how that will affect him. He could be dangerous."

Celestia's brow raises. "And what would you suggest we do, Cadance? Kill an infant?"

Cadance frowns, looking deeply uncomfortable. "I-I mean... He's not natural. He doesn't behave like any infant I've ever seen, I thought it was just because he's a dragon, but... Does such a creature even have a soul?"

Celestia sighs, and turns back to gaze at the dragon, who had just woken up and was curiously staring up at the two fillies over him. Their behavior is rather unusual for a baby, that much is true; They looked at the world with an uncharacteristic degree of calm and understanding. "Spike was born from the magic of harmony, Cadance, in the form that Twilight found most fitting. Twilight is a good natured pony, no?" Cadance nods hesitantly in response. "Then I'm sure her creation is equally as good natured. Spike is indeed an unusual entity, but I see nothing to suggest they are dangerous. In a way, they are most similar to ourselves, in the sense that we were also formed from the magic of Harmony."

Cadance looks down, darkly. "I don't think I would describe that cabal's magic as 'harmony'..."

Celestia offers Cadance a sympathetic look, and places one hoof reassuringly on her shoulder. "Perhaps not, but Harmony is the magic that made you into this rather than what they intended. Have patience, Spike will turn out just fine."

Cadance stares at the dragon hatchling with grave intent, watching as Twilight picks them up and places them on her back. With a sigh, Cadance bites her lip, a feeling of dread stinging her heart. "Or be the doom of us all..."

The princess and their two students bid Cadance farewell, and continue on their tour, with Spike clinging tightly to Twilight's back. Celestia had tried to move the dragon back to the crib, but Spike had refused to be separated from the purple unicorn filly and Celestia frankly did not have the heart required to force them apart.

Rainbow Dash quickly loses track of where the group was actually going, the directions getting all muddled in her head as Celestia explains what yet another room is for, none of which has any meaning to the pegasus. At least Twilight seems to be getting something out of it, judging by how raptly she is paying attention to the princesses words. For Rainbow Dash's part, it is getting to be a struggle just to follow along.

At least the massive room they are currently walking through, lined with stained glass windows, is easy to remember. It is, after all, rather difficult to miss given how imposing it is. "This is the way to the throne room and the vaults." Celestia explains as they walk. "These windows portray events and ponies from the last thousand years who have shaped the Equestria of today. The enchantment cast upon this hall creates a new portrait whenever the course of Equestrian history is changed."

Celestia is still talking, but Rainbow Dash doesn't hear another word of what they are saying. Because the sight before her, had instantly wiped all other thoughts from her mind, her blood running cold as she stops in her hoofsteps.

Before her, in all its glory, practically glowing with the rays of sunlight cast through it, is the likeness of a pony she is quite well aware of. Shadow Kicker, on her deathbed, spear through her chest... Just like in Rainbow Dash's dream, though she is certain she had never seen the painting before.

"Rainbow Dash?" Celestia's prodding voice snaps Rainbow Dash out of the trance she had been caught in, and she jumps into the air, startled.

"Ah! I mean, sorry, I got... Distracted." Rainbow Dash nervously smiles, trying to play off the screech of surprise she had just given off. Gah, stupid, stupid!

Celestia's eyes are drawn to the portrait that Rainbow Dash had paused in front of, and walks up beside the young filly. "Ah. Shadow Kicker." Celestia frowns, gaze becoming downcast and melancholy. "A tragedy, what happened to her. She was a true hero, in her time."

Rainbow Dash frowns, looking up at Celestia. "How did she die? I mean, I've heard stories, but... None of them seem to agree. Cloud Kicker says one thing, school says another."

Celestia goes rigid for a moment, face displaying a level of unease as they lay down next to Rainbow Dash. Twilight glances over in curiosity and joins them as well. "It... Was my fault." Celestia eventually states, a long-buried undercurrent of pain in their voice. "A dear friend betrayed Equestria, and I could not bring myself to hurt them. Shadow Kicker wouldn't let it be... It was only after her death that I was able to bring myself to retaliate." Celestia closes their eyes tightly, muscles tensing. "And my mistake was sealed in glass, for all eternity."

Rainbow Dash gives Celestia a scared look. This was the most upset she had seen Celestia since she had met them... Just about a week ago. Had it really been such a short time? "O-oh." Rainbow Dash's gaze lowers, and she takes a deep breathe. "I... I've seen this portrait before. In a dream, the night after you visited me in Cloudsdale."

Celestia gives a bittersweet smile, as their gaze drifts over to Rainbow Dash. Despite the filly's claim, the princess does not appear the least bit surprised. A small chuckle escapes their lips, as they stand up. "Oh, dearest sister, playing games again, are we?" Celestia muses to themself. "And yet, you've never graced my dreams, not once. Perhaps you know that is the worst nightmare of all."

"P-Princess?" Twilight stammers out. "What are you talking about?"

Celestia's melancholy gaze sweeps the long hall, and they shake their head. "Nothing you should concern yourselves with now, my little ponies. Nothing that should burden young minds such as your own. Come, we have a throne room to tour." With that, Celestia begins trotting down the hallway once again.

Rainbow Dash hesitates for a long moment, staring up at the portrait, before joining them. Then that proves it... That dream really was a warning. Cloud Kicker was right. As Rainbow Dash hurries to catch up with Celestia, she can't quite dispel the feeling of dread which infiltrates her heart.

Author's Note

Bonus chapter for Celestia Day!

I imagine this chapter will be, uh, divisive. I feel like this is gonna be pretty much the dividing line for if anypony is along for the ride or not.

If you're not... Alright, there's the door. No, really. I mean it. This chapter is a pretty good capture of the themes and plot threads we're gonna be traveling down in this story so, if you're not feeling it, now's probably the best time to jump ship. Won't be changing going forwards.

Familial Pride

"Hey, Princess? Not for nothing, but I'm getting pretty tired on my hooves. Could I head to my room and settle in?" Rainbow Dash asks as the tour reaches the throne room.

Celestia blinks, looking back at the pegasus as startled realization suddenly sets in. "Oh goodness, you're still recovering, aren't you? And here I am, dragging you all around the castle all day on your hooves."

Rainbow Dash offers a weak smile, shuffling in place. Her hooves are, in fact, still quite sore, and the lightning-patterned veins of red lines crawling up her leg have yet to dissipate, leaving her crisscrossed in swollen crimson marks. "Eheh... I'll be fine, promise. I just think I'd like to relax for now, that's all." She tries to brush off the injury.

Celestia nods. "Of course, Rainbow Dash. Do you need me to show you the way back?"

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “Nah, I think I got it," she affirms before taking off and lazily floating through the air back to where she came from; flight is easier on her hooves after all.

That leaves Twilight alone with just Celestia again.The unicorn’s eyelid twitches as an undercurrent of stress begins pulsing through her. Rainbow Dash's forthrightness had made it easier to relax around the Princess, but now it's just the two of them again. Well, three, technically, with the small dragon on her back reminding her of its presence by tugging on her mane.

Celestia warmly appraises the unicorn filly, Twilight's heart pounding just a smidge harder in her chest now that the monarch's attention is once more upon her, specifically. "And how about you, Twilight? Do you also feel the need to rest?"
Twilight shakes her head fervently. "No! I'm ready to start!" She isn't sure exactly what she is ready to start, though; her lessons? Nonetheless, she's eager to start learning whatever it is she is here to learn. Magic, right?

Celestia giggles softly. "While I admire your eagerness, I'm afraid it is not yet time. I haven't had time to clear my schedule for this week to begin lessons, so I am afraid my duties call. Classes will begin next week."

Twilight makes a face of horrified disappointment. "Next week?" She can't help but let her impatience through in her voice; She wants to learn magic now! If she had known she wouldn't be getting any lessons for an entire week, she’d have brought books from home to study.

Celestia offers the young filly an endearing smile. "Now there, Twilight. What do you say we find you some books in the library in the meantime? Your brother tells me you love to read, and you now have plenty of time to do so."

Twilight immediately perks up, both at the mention of books and her brother. "Huh? Shiny? You've talked to Shiny?"

Celestia nods. "Of course. I've spoken to every prospective palace guard." For just a second as they say that, the princess looks entirely too exhausted. But they quickly pull themself back together again. "And as soon as I learned one of the cadets was my new student's older brother, I of course went to go and visit him. I enjoy learning about the personal lives of those near me."

Twilight's eyes shine with eagerness. Although she knows her brother is a royal guard cadet, it somehow has not occurred to her before that means he is here, in the palace where she would be staying. Hopping in place excitedly, Twilight beams up at Celestia. "Can we go and visit him!?"

Celestia hesitates. It would likely not be a good idea to distract the guard with his little sister. Then again, it might help remind him what he is protecting, and the princess is keen to give those that serve them a chance for warmth and happiness. As they are all too familiar with, such opportunities, once squandered, might never return. So, Celestia nods. "Of course. But we should hurry; I do not have much more time."

Twilight nods. "Which way?" The filly asks, looking around questioningly.

"Just follow me, I shall show you." Celestia offers, taking the lead with Twilight following closely behind. The pair trot through a side passage leading through a garden, around the outdoor section of the palace, to the training grounds towards the palace rear. There is a small courtyard, connected to two buildings; a tower on one side and a half-dome on the other, which Twilight guesses is probably the dormitory. And in the middle, a variety of unicorn guards-ponies in the midst of a magical training exercise, the drill sergeant behind them barking orders. They’re organized in two groups, with one bombarding the other with magical spells while their opponents block the onslaught with a shield spell.

Twilight watches as she approaches. The team on the defense looks almost entirely wiped out, most of the unicorns struggling to even stand, but a single gallant figure in the middle of the team is holding the line, standing stock-upright and single-hoofedly absorbing the entire enemy team’s assault.

Twilight’s gaze lights up as she recognizes her beloved brother holding the line, and she hops up and down excitedly, much to Celestia’s surprise; this is certainly the most excited the princess has seen her since they’d met. "Wooh! Go Shiny!" Twilight cheers, grinning broadly.

“Huh?” Shining Armor’s head instinctively jolts in the direction of the sound, the sudden distraction weakening his shield enough for it to shatter under the sustained magical bombardment, pelting him in a variety of stinging bolts.

The drill sergeant's whistle blows. "Everypony, at attention! Their majesty is with us!" Every guard in the line snaps into a rigid, upright position, even those who, mere moments ago, had been too tired to stand.

"At ease, guardsponies. May I borrow one Shining Armor for a moment?" Celestia asks cordially as she walks up to the edge of the group of ponies, their tone of voice seemingly suggesting that 'no' is a possible answer despite the fact that nopony would dare refuse the Princess. Twilight scurries along underhoof, keeping close to the princess.

"Of course. Shining Armor, please escort the princess! Everypony else, you may take a five-minute break." The drill sergeant orders, and Shining Armor glances back and forth in confusion before trotting over to Celestia.

"Your majesty, what have I done to deserve the honor of your company?" Shining Armor asks in his best formal tone, bowing his head so low that he doesn't even notice Twilight standing right beside the alicorn.

"Oh, I'm afraid you've done nothing, Shining Armor." Celestia's voice betrays a sense of amusement. "However, I have it on good authority that my companion here would dearly like to see you."

Shining Armor raises his head in confusion, just in time to see the purple filly throw her hooves around his neck, squeezing him tightly. "I just realized we'll both be staying at the palace during the week, now! Isn't that amazing?" Twilight announces, grinning ear to ear.

Shining Armor blushes, keenly aware of Celestia’s presence watching him. "U-Um, Twilie, can’t this wait until we get home..?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

"Huh? Do you not want to see me?" Twilight furrows her brow, her lip quivering in an obnoxiously cute display that just about makes Shining Armor’s heart burst from his chest.

"It's not that, It's just... Celestia’s... Right there." Shining Armor hisses out between clenched teeth, clearly growing more nervous with the moment.

"Oh? I suppose I could take a few steps back if that would be more comfortable for you." Celestia suggests playfully. "Or to the side. Or even forwards, if that would help?"

"Th-That won't be necessary!" Shining Armor quickly stammers out, his voice cracking.

Twilight shrugs. After seeing all the things that Rainbow Dash had gotten away with near Celestia, it's hard to feel as intimidated as she normally would have been. Besides of which, she has something to show her brother! Lifting Spike with her levitation, she promptly places the dragon down right in front of her, waking the baby dragon who had fallen asleep on her back some time ago.

"Uooh?" Comes the curious sound from the purple-scaled wonder themself, blinking open wide green eyes as they look up at Shining Armor.

"Spike, say hello to Shiny, my Big Brother Best Friend Forever! And Shiny, say hello to Spike!" Twilight beams up at Shining Armor, who takes a step back, quite literally taken aback.

"Uhm? And who is this little fella?" Shining Armor asks, uncertainly.

The response comes not from Twilight, but Celestia. "Your sister pulled off a phenomenal magical feat during her magical exam, and hatched Spike here from a chunk of inanimate rock."

Shining Armor's jaw drops wide open, his eyes practically bulging from his head. "Twilie did WHAT?"

Celestia giggles at his reaction. "You didn't think I took in students lightly, did you? Your sister has an extraordinary gift for magic, you should be proud."

Shining Armor doesn't hesitate any longer to throw his hooves around both Twilight and her draconic companion, triggering a giggle from both Spike and Twilight. "I am proud of her! As proud as a brother can be!" A faint warble can be heard in Shining Armor's voice.

"I can see that talent runs in the family, as well." Celestia states, approvingly. "Your performance in drills just now was exemplary, Shining Armor. I hope you know that I expect great things from you."

Shining Armor salutes with one hoof, while the other remains tightly wrapped around Twilight, sandwiching a presently very-happy Spike in between the two ponies as they coo gently. "Yes, Princess! It's an honor to serve!" Shining Armor's voice takes on its more characteristic formal tone.

Celestia's smile slips a little with a sigh. "Well, it's been a pleasure. It is good to see my little ponies in such good spirits, but I'm afraid that's all the time I have today. Duty calls. Shining Armor, could you please escort your sister here to the library? She seems to be in need of some recreation to fill the time until her classes start."

Shining Armor releases Twilight and Spike from his grasp and bows low before the solar monarch. "Of course, Princess, it would be my honor." Shining Armor holds the pose until Celestia lifts off and flies off, before turning his attention back to his younger sister. "Well, somepony has been busy, huh hotshot? Look at you, making inroads with royalty and conjuring new life on the spot. I wonder what other surprises you've got in store for me?"

Twilight blushes at the praise, looking away. "I wasn't able to just do it on my own, you know... I only passed the exam because of Rainbow Dash's Rainboom."

As Shining Armor begins leading Twilight down the halls, he glances back at her and raises a brow. "Whose whatnow?"

"Rainbow Dash! She's Celestia's other new student. She's a pegasus from Cloudsdale. Do you remember the huge rainbow from the day of my exam? That was her doing, and that's what gave me the magic necessary to hatch Spike." Twilight explains, glancing back to see Spike presently absently munching on a bit of her mane. "Ow, Spike, stop it!" Twilight protests, as the little dragon tugs.

"Rainbow Dash, huh? From Cloudsdale?" Shining Armor snorts. "Oh, the other nobles are gonna have a field day with this..." He mutters under his breath.

Twilight cocks her head looking at her brother. "Huh? Why?"

Shining Armor just shakes his head. "Nevermind that. You're gonna love the Canterlot palace library, sis. I don't think I can let you into all the rooms just yet, but some of the rarest magical texts in Equestria are stored here." Shining Armor casts a look over at Spike, who is presently nestled down against Twilight's neck. "And maybe you can find something on taking care of that little fella while you're here, too."

Twilight perks up. "That's a good idea, I'm sure they have something on dragon physiology around here!" She pauses, frowning. "...Dragon's don't produce milk, do they? I have no idea where I would get dragon milk..."

Shining Armor shrugs. "I think you'd know that better than me, Twilie. Anyways, we're here!" Shining Armor stops before a gated room, rows and rows of books concealed just out of range. With a poof, Shining Armor manifests a key out of seemingly nowhere, sliding it into the lock and opening the gate.

Twilight stumbles forward in an awed daze, eyes growing large. It isn't that the library is immense in size, but rather that the books are incredible to look at. Many appear ancient, but all are in excellent condition, gilded within elaborate tomes bound in leather (a rarity in Equestria), gold, silver, and even... Are those gemstones studded into some of the books?

"Be careful now, Twilie." Shining Armor cautions. "Stick only to what isn't locked up. Some of these books can be dangerous." Though he could technically leave now to get back to practice, Shining Armor figures that Celestia would probably want him to watch the unicorn filly and make sure she doesn't get herself into any trouble. Plus, if another guard came by, they might think she had broken in; Having Shining Armor there ensured she wouldn't be bothered.

So, Shining Armor settles in, scanning the bookshelves to find something for himself to read. Ooh, unicorn combat tactics seventh edition. I didn't know they came out with this. Shining Armor thinks to himself, approvingly, as he draws a book from the shelf. One of many works that is only available to the personal retinue of Princess Celestia themself, and for good reason; It simply would not do to let any old insurrectionist be able to read all about the combat techniques of the royal guard.

Meanwhile, Twilight is running from bookshelf to bookshelf in a flurry of activity, eyes scanning and rapidly grabbing books with her magic as she goes. "I don't know if I've ever seen any of these books before, Shiny!" She whisper-shouts. "How should I start!? Should I read them in alphabetic order? Or maybe by author? Or-"

Twilight's flurry of questions is halted by Shining Armor levering a pointed look at her. "Don't you think you should start with dragon physiology? I don't know if anypony actually knows what you need to do to take care of your... Um, creation." He points out.

Twilight halts in place, ceasing her ecstatic bouncing for a moment. "You're right, Shiny. You always know what's best." Twilight offers her older brother an endearing smile which almost makes his heart explode from his chest at the sheer wholesomeness of it, before quickly scanning the archives. "Let's see... Rare and unusual creatures volumes one through four, that might have something... A treatise on Equestria's neighbors, no, that looks more like it's about politics... Ah, here we are! The Compendium of Known Dragon Lore, by famed explorer Rope Trotter!" Twilight announces eagerly as she accumulates a small stack of books to read, curling up beside her brother and starting with the last of the books acquired.

Shining Armor hides a smile as he glances over at the small form of Twilight Sparkle, now sandwiched neatly between him and the wall. She'd just naturally taken up that position without even thinking about it, perhaps feeling safer close to her brother, or at least more comfortable. In turn, Spike curls up between Twilight's hooves, leaving the three of them snuggled together in the corner of the room. Honestly, where do you get off being so precious? I can't even be upset about being taken away from training for this.

Sighing, Shining Armor turns another page in his book. He has a feeling he's going to be stuck here for a nice long time, indeed, judging from the size of Twilight's stack of books...

Twilight's Protector

Shining Armor is, indeed, stuck there for quite some time. But sooner or later, with the sun declining below the horizon, Shining Armor is able to persuade the young filly to retire to her quarters.

The next day, nopony gets even a peep from Twilight, as the books she had gathered from the library, along with her 'creation' as Shiny had put it, are all the company she needs. But the following morning, it is time to head home; Since Twilight and Shining Armor's parents lived in Canterlot, they are both able to head home on the weekends from the castle.

On her way out, Twilight catches sight of Rainbow Dash flying around over the castle. I feel a little bad for her. She doesn't get to see home at all. But one more thought of the library in the castle dispels that feeling of sympathy; maybe she should envy the pegasus, instead, given she'd have the opportunity to be surrounded by those glorious books Every. Single. Weekend.

"Ready to head out, Twilie?" Shining Armor asks, waiting near the front gates. Inside, it is still relatively quiet, as the guards keep pesky visitors at bay, but the throng of ponies outside can be heard through the stone walls of the castle. Twilight nods. As reluctant as she is to leave her books behind, she has more at home, and her studies had told her that getting rest would improve her ability to assimilate new information when classes actually start next week.

As soon as the two ponies open the gate, they are greeted with a flood of pony faces; there's no particular event, but the castle itself is practically always the recipient of tourists hoping to catch a view of the Princess of the Sun. But apparently, the Princesses new student also instigates a fair degree of interest, because as soon as they catch sight of her, a number of ponies point their hooves and chattered excitedly to eachother or snapped photos of Twilight.

Twilight flinches in surprise. Somehow, it had never occurred to her that her new status would make her a local celebrity. She doesn't have time to think about it much, though, as a couple of newsponies quickly cram themselves into the fillies face. "Twilight Sparkle! As the princesses new student, many Equestrians are curious about life in the royal palace! Would you care for an interview?" The first pony asks, microphone in hoof.

Twilight shakes in fear. Ponies in general aren't too hard for her to deal with; She's introverted and antisocial, not outright paranoid. But this much attention on her specifically is more than she was used to. "I-I... Um..." Twilight stammers out.

Thankfully, Shining Armor stamps a hoof on the ground and glares at the newsponies so fiercely that they instantly recoil in fear. "As a Royal Guard, I speak with the authority of the princess when I say... Back off. Twilight Sparkle is not to be harassed or harangued on her way home." Shining Armor growls out with vitriol. The newsponies gulp anxiously and scurry away in terror, bowing their heads as they go and allowing Shining Armor to shoulder his way through the crowd, dragging Twilight along with him.

Fortunately, the tourist types mostly just hang around the entrance to the palace, and once the two of them have reached Canterlot proper it is far less busy, and they are able to gain some level of privacy. Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. "Hey, Shiny? Aren't you just a cadet...? I don't think you actually have the authority to say any of that..." Twilight asks, doubtfully.

Shining Armor just glances back at Twilight and winks. "Sure, but they don't need to know that." He smirks playfully, before raising a hoof and knocking on the door of their home. It isn't far from the castle, as the traditional estates of the nobility are on the upper platforms of Canterlot, separate from the riff-raff.

The families estate is modest by the standards of nobility; Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a couple hundred square meters. But what is there is still much more well maintained and crafted than average ponish architecture, even for Canterlot. The front door, an arched specimen made of seasoned oak wood with patterns carved into its surface, swings open revealing the siblings' father, Night Light.

"You're back! So, how did your first couple days as the princesses newest student go?" Night Light asks, stepping aside to let the two ponies enter the room.

"Actually, I'm not their newest student anymore." Twilight states, not considering the implications of that statement. Shining Armor strolls in and flops down on the couch, stretching out, while Night Light looks taken aback.

"Huh? What happened?" Night Light pauses; He would expect Twilight to be heartbroken if she had been removed from Celestia's school just like that, but his daughter seems perfectly calm and content. So, he doesn't quite know how to react; should he be sympathetic? Worried? Supportive? Beyond that, Twilight seems to still be carrying the dragon she had hatched during the entrance exam with her, and hadn't come home early. As a result, Night Light can't seem to figure out how to interpret the statement. "Surely they wouldn't just drop you for no reason?"

"Huh?" Twilight looks confused, before the filly connects the dots of how her father had misunderstood her. "Oh, no! I didn't mean that I'm not their student anymore. I just meant that they got another new student after me."

Night Light raises his brow in confusion. "What? Really? They took in another unicorn?" From what he remembers, Celestia only did that very rarely; It had been years since their last student, and before that... He didn't even know if she ever had before But now there were two in the space of a week..?

Twilight shakes her head, hopping up to the kitchen table. "Oh, no. She's a pegasus from Cloudsdale, named Rainbow Dash. Do you remember the rainbow surge that gave me the power to hatch Spike?" Twilight asks, absently stroking the little dragons spines while she speaks. "That was her, apparently! Oh, I'd love to study how she did that... I'll need to get her to do it again, sometime."

Night Light exchanges a worried look with Shining Armor, lowering his voice. "You mean... Celestia's new student not only isn't a unicorn, but is a commoner?" He hisses, a tone of concern in his voice.

Twilight blinks at him, cocking her head to the side. "Um, I guess so. What does that have to do with anything, though?" She asks, quizzically. It doesn't really seem particularly pertinent to the feat that Rainbow Dash had accomplished.

"It sets a worrying precedent." Night Light states gravely. "I'm sure that there will be push-back from the other noble families, too." Night Light frowns, shaking his head. "Just what could the princess be thinking..." He mutters.

"...But, that's enough of that, right now." Twilight Velvet interjects, as she had apparently been listening in on the conversation from the kitchen. A couple platters of food are carried with her, levitated in her magic. "Tell us how life at the palace was! We want to hear all about it."

"Well, there isn't too much to say." Twilight Sparkle states, scrunching up her face as she pulls up a seat and sits at the table with her mother. Shining Armor slides off the couch and also trots over to join them. "Classes don't start until next week, so I was mostly left to my own devices to get settled in. But my room is very cozy, and I was able to go to the palace library. It's not as big as Canterlot Library, but it has lots of really rare books I've never seen before! Really fancy ones, too." The filly exclaims, voice steadily getting more excited the more she talks about books.

"That's great, honey." Velvet replies, smiling dotingly at her daughter. "What kind of books? Any good stories?" She asks, hopefully. Though her daughter does read narrative stories on occasion, it mostly only happens when she runs out of things to study. It is good that she is so studious, but Velvet can't help but feel a tad more recreation might be warranted.

But the filly just shakes her head. "Well, no, not yet anyways. I've been reading all about dragon physiology for our new friend here. Oh! That reminds me, do we have any gemstones? Apparently, that's the favorite food of a dragon. He seems to be doing alright so far on a diet of rocks and milk so far, but I'm sure his diet could use some more variety. Apparently, dragons mostly need minerals for developing their bones and scales, with other food being used mostly for energy..."

Twilight seems ready to go on a two hour long diatribe about dragon physiology that would certainly go over everypony else's head, so her mother quickly interjects before she can get too far along on her tangent. "How about the crown? Did either of you do anything that warranted more points while at the palace? No making things up either now, both of you play fair now."

Twilight blinks, re-orienting her mind to the new topic. Pretty quickly, something does in fact pop into her mind. "Um, Shiny took time out of his schedule to help me find the library and stayed with me while I was reading! I think he deserves a point for that!"

Shining Armor narrows his eyes, looking almost competitive as he leans forward and points a hoof at his sister. "Well, Twilie created life. I think that's worth more than a point." He points out, triggering confused looks from both Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Remembering that his parents weren't privy to the conversation with Celestia, the colt explains "The 'egg' she hatched Spike from wasn't even an egg, it was just a rock! She literally created Spike from nothing!"

The two siblings parents sputtering in shock is utterly lost on Twilight, who places her forelegs up on the table in a display of shockingly bad table manners as, not to be undone, she announces more of her brothers accomplishments. "Yeah? Well, you were so amazing at your drill when I got there that even the princess was impressed! You matched the entire enemy team with your shield spell!"

The white colt blushes a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, you saw that, huh?" He asks, flustered, struggling to think of something. "W-well, you... Uh..." Shining Armor scrambles to think of more things, but honestly he hadn't seen too much of Twilight except for that one evening which she had spent reading; That wasn't exactly anything worth writing home about, considering who he was talking about.

"And not only that, but Shiny shooed away some nosy ponies to let us walk home in peace!" Twilight continues her offensive, looking smug.

Night Light and Twilight Velvet both look at eachother, looking rather surprised. "Well, I guess that is hard to argue with. We'll have to tally up those points, but it sounds like Shining Armor will probably win the crown this week." Twilight Velvet states, though not very definitively.

Her daughter blinks, apparently just then realizing that she had successfully argued her way out of winning the crown, and wilts. "Oh, right... That is what that means, isn't it." She states, sheepishly. "...Yay?"

"Now you two, eat your dinner. I'm sure you can use the energy after all that training... And reading."

With her nose buried in books well beyond her ages usual reading comprehension, Twilight's folks don't see much more of her that weekend. But come monday morning, the filly is an excitable, high-strung, and anxious wreck, waking up hours before it is strictly necessary. Celestia's calm and pleasant demeanor had done much to set her worries at ease previously, but that had been days ago now, and her mind had plenty of time to work itself back into a state of abject terror.

"What if I miss something!?" Twilight frets to Shining Armor, wearing out a circle on the floor where she is pacing back and forth. "What if there's a pop quiz on the first day and I fail it and get expelled or thrown in the dungeon or banished to space!?" Twilight continues rattling off increasingly more and more paranoid suppositions, while Shining Armor just stares nonplussed into the mirror where he is currently brushing his teeth.

"Did you try making a list?" Shining Armor suggests, after gargling and spitting out the toothpaste in the sink. "That's what dad always does when he's trying to make sure he didn't forget anything. Maybe you'd feel more at ease if you did."

Twilight perks up. "That's a great idea, Shiny!" The filly zooms away into her room, leaving Shining Armor to stare tiredly into the mirror and try to psych himself up. From now on, whenever he went to cadet school at the palace at the start of each week, he would be walking Twilight to school as well, and walking her back every weekend. While his parents had told him it was to keep Twilight company, he knew better; He'd heard them talking worriedly, late at night, when they thought he was asleep.

Twilight being Celestia's pupil now paints a target on her back. Shining Armor reminds himself, taking a deep breathe. If anypony targeted her on her way to or from school, it would be up to him to protect her. At least she'll be safe when she's at the palace. None of the noble houses would dare send an assassin or foalnapper there.

Not that he was going to mention any of this to his little sister; She is anxious enough as it is without worrying about aristocratic politics. He just has to be sure to keep a close eye on her. With that in mind, Shining Armor levitates his armor over to himself and hastily pulls all the straps tight. Twenty-seven seconds. Pretty fast. Shining Armor notes to himself approvingly, regarding the speed at which he had equipped himself. Cadets always wear their armor while at class, to help them get used to wearing it and performing physical activity while burdened by its weight. He barely even notices it anymore.

"I ran out of room on the scroll..." Twilight pops back into the room, trailing an egregiously long scroll filled with inane details about what she had to do. "But it's a good thing I made the list, i almost forgot my backup-backup-backup quill! That would have been a disaster!"

Shining Armor chuckles and shakes his head. "Yeah, alright, Twilie. There's still quite a while before it's time to go. I'll let you in the bath first, so just try and relax, alright? I'm sure it'll all be fine." He tries to reassure his younger sister. Celestia knew she could use the relaxation- As it was, she would be too high-strung to actually absorb any lessons.

Shining Armor trots out of the bathroom and shuts the door behind him, hearing it lock a second later. He smiles a little wistfully at the reminder that his little sister was growing up; Just last year, they had still taken baths together, but now she is independent enough to take them by herself.

The rest of the morning largely consists of trying to reassure the filly that no, Celestia would not in fact eject her from the planet if she happened to get a question wrong. Twilight had gotten up, and gotten Shining Armor up by extension, at a painfully early hour of the morning, so it is quite some time before they are supposed to leave; As a result, there is more than enough time to eat breakfast, take a long relaxing shower, and even take a short nap before it's time for the two siblings to set off for the Canterlot palace.

Author's Note

I noticed that chapters often do really well on thursdays, so I thought I'd try and change up my post schedule for a bit. Hope y'all enjoyed!

The Braggart and the Egghead

Twilight gulps anxiously as the imposing gates of the palace come into view. Though she would be attending Celestia's School of Magic, she was supposed to check in at the palace first. Although she had been there previously—And indeed, though she had grown quite familiar with the sight over the course of her life so far—it was still an intimidating sight.

Thankfully, her brother is there with her, and far more comfortable entering the palace. Nodding his head to each of the guards at the entrance, Shining Armor smiles and shows off his insignia. The pegasus on duty only glances at the insignia as a formality before stepping aside. "Hey, Shining. Heard you caught the princesses eye the other day. And for better reasons than me and Hooves, ha."

Shining Armor shakes his head. "Just because Twilight here wanted to see me. Got called up right in the middle of practice. Um, not that there's anything wrong with that!" Shining Armor hastily adds the last part as he glances down at Twilight in alarm, noticing the purple unicorn filly shrinking back between his legs in embarrassment.

"Ah, right, your kid sister here's Celestia's new student, isn't she?" The guard looks down at Twilight in interest, making the filly withdraw even further back. "Well, go on in. Wouldn't want to keep the princess waiting." He motions back with his head, leaving the way open for Twilight and Shining Armor to enter the palace proper.

"If I'm not mistaken, Celestia should be raising the sun about now." Shining Armor states. "Which means... It should be this way." His hoof points the way, as he leads Twilight onward. He technically doesn't have to report in for a while longer; He'd gotten here early to make sure Twilight could find her way. Well, partially for that reason, partially because she was so anxious that he thought the sooner she got here the sooner she could relax.

Twilight recognizes the path the two of them take, through the large semi-circular hallway which leads around the private section of the palace, past Celestia's office to the spiral stair leading up Celestia's tower. Putting on his stoic guard face, Shining Armor dutifully escorts his sister up the stairs before practically bumping into Celestia on the second floor landing.

Shining Armor snaps to attention, saluting the princess hastily. "Princess. I was just bringing Twilight for her lessons." Shining Armor explains, bowing his head.

"At ease, Shining Armor." The familiar melodious voice of Princess Celestia calls out, before turning their attention to Twilight. "Perfect timing, my new student. We were just on our way to breakfast. Would you care to join us?" Celestia's eyes flick back, drawing Twilight's attention to the filly behind the princess. Rainbow Dash has prominent dark circles under her eyes, but whatever tiredness she might have had from being woken up so early seems to be counterbalanced by an undercurrent of excitement for her first classes.

The same could be said for Twilight, who bobs her head up and down like a raft in turbulent waters. "Uh, yes! Yes, of course! Princess!" Twilight hastily replies.

Her brother chuckles and pats Twilight on the back. "Well, it seems like you're in good hooves. I'd better go and check in with my CO." Shining Armor briefly hugs Twilight and bows to Celestia before trotting back down the stairs. As distracted as she is, Twilight barely even notices him leaving, following Celestia back into the cozy room where she had met Rainbow Dash for the first time not long ago.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash are left twiddling their hooves while Celestia goes about making breakfast. Even though she'd seen it the previous time she was here, Twilight still finds it hard to grasp that her breakfast is being made by the princess, personally.

"So, Twilight." Rainbow Dash speaks up, triggering Twilight to wince. Oh great, she want's to talk. Does she think we're here to socialize? But despite Twilight's silent pleas, Rainbow Dash seems intent on continuing her line of thought. "What're you here to learn? The princess promised me that I'd learn a lot of survival skills, flying tricks, fighting moves... Stuff like that. But you don't look like you'd be interested in all that."

Twilight blinks at her in confusion. "Flying..? Survival...? I mean, that all sounds interesting and all." Twilight wonders if she should point out her distinct lack of the wings required to engage in flight. Like that would have squashed her innate curiosity, anyways. "But I'm here to study magic. And books. And anything else I can." Despite her typical disdain for social interaction, Twilight finds her speech increasing in speed and excitement at the opportunity to talk about her studies. "Recently, I was studying the foundations of Equestria and-"

"Woah, there, I was just asking. I get it, 100% certified egghead over here." Rainbow Dash cuts Twilight off flippantly, leaning back in her chair. "Guess that makes sense, you don't look like you'd be much good in a fight."

You were the one who asked... Twilight gives Rainbow Dash an irritated glare. "Hey! My brothers a royal guard, you know, I could learn how to fight..." Twilight responds, pawing at the ground self consciously and frowning. Why was this musclehead taken in as Celestia's student anyways?

Rainbow Dash gives the unicorn an interested look and seems about to respond, but before she can, the pairs teacher returns with three plates of pancakes.

The two fillies both stare at the food, dumbfounded. It was far less 'sophisticated' than one might expect from a princess, but a grin quickly finds its way across Rainbow Dash's face. This feels like the kind of thing she'd have eaten at home, and somehow it gives her a cozy and warm feeling inside. The expression does not go unnoticed by Celestia, who giggles lightly. "I'm glad to see I can still bring a smile to a filly's face. I trust the accommodations at the palace have been to your liking?"

Rainbow Dash hesitates before shrugging. "It's too ornate for my tastes." She admits bluntly, prompting an aghast look from Twilight. Did this pony have any tact? Much to Twilight's horror, the pegasus keeps going. "And the stone tile hurts to walk around on. Its way harder than the cloud floors back home."

Celestia nods understandingly. "I imagine so. How have you been healing, incidentally? I trust you've been keeping off your hooves as much as possible?"

Rainbow Dash scoffs. "Well, I can always just use my wings. So yeah, I haven't been on my hooves too much. Doc had me check in yesterday, and he said I'm healing well." Not that I put much effort into staying off my hooves... Wasn't sitting around in that hospital bed bad enough?

A genuine smile breaks across Celestia's face as they levitate up a first bite of pancake to they mouth. Taking a bite in the characteristically effortlessly graceful way they did anything, Celestia nods. "I see, that is good to hear. Are you both looking forward to your first lessons?" Celestia cocks their head to the side.

Both of the fillies nod their heads eagerly; At least this is something the two can agree on, even if their idea of what those lessons might be is radically different. "What are we gonna do first, Princess?" Rainbow Dash asks, hopping up into a standing position and waggling her body side to side like she was getting ready to leap. "You said you were gonna teach me flying tricks, right? Ooh! Or maybe some fighting tips?"

Twilight furrows her brow, looking ruefully over at Rainbow Dash. "I feel I should point out some of us don't have wings. We should really start with something more practical. Like... Calculus!" Twilight suggests, equally as eagerly as Rainbow Dash.

"Please, my little ponies, there is no need for conflict. You will both have your chances to learn what it is you seek." Celestia chides. "But for today, I thought it would be best to get a handle on what you are both capable of. Though you have both already proven yourselves tremendously talented, I have yet to see much of what you can do under less strenuous circumstances."

At this, a flicker of doubt crosses Rainbow Dash's face, a slight recoil from Celestia's words. The change goes unnoticed by Twilight, but Celestia picks up on it right away. "Do not worry Rainbow Dash, I am aware you are not yet at full strength again. I would not ask you to strain yourself, I simply wish to have a chance to see your techniques in motion."

Rainbow Dash puffs out her chest indignantly, swallowing her nervousness. "H-ha, who said anything about being worried? I could beat anypony in a race hooves down, even now!" She sputters with bravado so painfully obvious even Twilight notices it, triggering Celestia to roll their eyes in response.

"Be that as it may, I must request that you take it easy, Rainbow Dash." Celestia responds lightly. "I would not see you injured again, and I do not believe it is necessary for you to exert yourself overtly for me to get an idea of your techniques and form. We can always test the limits of your endurance later."

Rainbow Dash looks relieved, but keeps the face of false confidence up, waving Celestia off. "I mean, I guess I can take it easy. Wouldn't wanna embarrass my teachers by out-flying them on the first day, after all." Twilight winces at the obnoxious brashness of the pegasus, while Celestia merely giggles lightly in amusement.

After the three of them had finished breakfast, Celestia takes the two students outside to a platform behind the palace. Twilight looks around in some wonder; She'd never been to this part of Canterlot before, being as it was only accessible by a narrow path leading past the palace. The final mountainside platform here behind the palace seems to serve as some kind of garden or wildlife refuge, as while there is still some traditional Canterlot architecture and the landscape still seems carefully cultivated for artistic purposes, it is overall mostly covered in flora that more resembles the mountain slopes below than the grass, flowers, and planted trees that line the main causeways of Canterlot proper.

"Twilight, why don't you go first?" Celestia asks cordially. "I had some chance to see Rainbow Dash perform at Cloudsdale, but I only caught sight of you performing magic while under the effects of the Rainboom. I should dearly like to witness your talents at work under more idyllic circumstances." Celestia lays down onto their stomach, looking awfully relaxed as they stretch out their wings under the sun. "Feel free to show me whatever you are most proud of."

Twilight blinks, surprised to be called up first, but nods her head. "I- Of course, Princess." Twilight bows her head and struts up into the clear space in the middle of the grove.

Rainbow Dash groans and rolls over onto her back. "Really? You're gonna let her go first? Why do I even need to be here for this?" The filly grumbles, pawing at the ground with a hoof. "Can I just go back to sleep and have you wake me up when she's done?"

Celestia frowns, transfixing Rainbow Dash in a disapproving, though not overtly hostile, gaze. "Rainbow Dash, show some respect and pay attention. You may learn something as well."

Rainbow Dash stares blankly up at Celestia. "...Eh? Exactly how would I learn anything? She's a unicorn, I'm a pegasus." As if to demonstrate this point, Rainbow Dash flares out her wings beneath her. "I don't exactly think I'm gonna be learning any new flying tricks from her, if you catch my drift."

Twilight bristles at the insult to not only her magic but the princesses teaching style, and opens her mouth to retort with something appropriately vitriolic. But before she can say anything, Celestia replies in a much less antagonistic manner than Twilight might have found appropriate. "You would be surprised how much you can learn from studying how other ponies perform their unique talents, my young pegasus." Celestia states in a reserved and level tone. "Even pegasus and unicorn magic have much in common. And should you ever find yourself locked in battle with a unicorn, it would serve you well to have an understanding of their capabilities."

Rainbow Dash grumbles, but reluctantly flops back over onto her front. "Alright, fine." She puffs out one cheek while watching Twilight.

What a stuck-up brat. Twilight thinks to herself indignantly. Why would the princess bring somepony like that here? At any rate, now Twilight has double the motivation to perform well here; Both to impress Celestia, and to put the snotty pegasus in her place. But what can she do without the help of the rainboom that would impress all present?

Twilight takes a deep breath. It is a bit of a long shot, and she isn't entirely certain if she can do it, but... "I'll need a little help for this demonstration." Twilight announces after a moment. Celestia raises a brow, while Rainbow Dash scoffs.

"Seriously? You can't even do magic on your own?" Rainbow Dash asks derisively.

Setting her jaw stoically, Twilight shakes her head. "I can do it just fine on my own, thank you very much! I just need somepony to help show its effects." Giving a sly smile, Twilight looks over at Rainbow Dash and beckons her with a jerk of her neck. "Here, why don't you help me? All I need is for somepony to try and attack me."

Rainbow Dash gives Twilight a skeptical look, then looks up at Celestia uncertainly. Celestia equally looks unsure, and leans over to whisper something in Rainbow Dash's ear. Apparently, the answer she gets is enough permission for her, because the pegasus takes off into the air. "Alright, tell me when you're ready." Rainbow Dash actually sounds somewhat interested now. Probably just because she's actually involved now. Twilight thinks dismissively. Keenly aware of Celestia's and Rainbow Dash's gaze on her, she settles into a wide stance and squeezes her eyes shut, focusing her magic out through her horn.

Sparks of magic blaze out into the air as Twilight feels her horn conducting the reservoir of magic held deep down inside of her. But it needs more focus than she is able to provide it just by will alone, at least, at her current skill level. She would need to time the chant appropriately, as she would not be able to keep the spell up for long. "Alright, Rainbow, I'm ready!" Twilight announces, her eyes flickering open again as she looks up at the pegasus before her. Under her breathe, Twilight breathes out the words of a simple spell, giving shape and focus to the magic she wields. "Light within me, protect me without!"

Just as Rainbow Dash dives down at her, swooping with one wing at her, a spherical barrier of magical light flickers into existence around Twilight, shimmering as it pulses with energy just as Rainbow Dash's wing contacts it. The barrier fades just as quickly as it appeared, but Rainbow Dash had already been repulsed, hissing as a smidge of magical energy stings the leading edge of her wing where it had impacted the shield.

"Ouch! So maybe you can fight, huh? Where'd you learn how to do that?" Rainbow Dash asks, suitably impressed. ...That's impressive, right? Or is that something any unicorn can do? Rainbow doesn't actually know, glancing between Twilight and Celestia to try and ascertain what her reaction should be. Based on Celestia's expression, she guesses she should be at least a bit impressed..? But maybe not too much. But... Alright, that was too much thinking for her, that spell was pretty awesome as far as she is concerned!

Twilight looks taken aback by the enthused response. "Uh, my brother taught me that spell! Shield spells are his specialty." She finds herself explaining. What gives? She was completely checked out just a moment ago.

"Why did you tense up so much when casting it? Does it take physical effort, or were you just flinching in case I hit you?" Rainbow Dash asks, strutting around Twilight with a curious gaze.

Twilight shifts, suddenly self conscious. "Um, the former. Casting spells is tiring work." Twilight's brain quickly begins scanning its memory banks to remember the reasons, continuing on with a quick addendum of "It's because a ponies magic is tied to their physical form, so exhausting one exhausts the other in turn."

Rainbow Dash looks surprisingly interested given the previous attitude the pegasus had shown. "Huh. I guess your unicorn magic does have something in common with pegasi after all." Rainbow Dash remarks, almost approvingly.

Celestia chuckles. "I believe I said as much, Rainbow. I think you will find that you and Twilight stand to learn much from each other, as well as from me."

"Pfft, yeah, whatever. Let's not get carried away, now." Rainbow Dash replies. "So, what else can ya do?" She asks Twilight, turning her attention back to the unicorn.

Twilight blinks a little, uncertainly. The mood seems to have shifted so rapidly and she doesn't entirely understand why or how. "Um?" Is all she says at first, but after a moment of thought, she nods her head and stands back up. She is still showing off her talents to Rainbow and Celestia after all, so a little more diverse display seemed warranted. "Sure. Yeah, I can do that."

What follows is a routine display of the breadth and depth of Twilight's magical talents under Celestia's watchful eye. Levitation, beam spells, magical sparks, even a transfiguration spell. When all is said and done, Twilight is panting exhausted in front of the two watching ponies, legs wobbling under the strain. Forcing a nervous smile out, Twilight tries to control her breathing. "So... How did I... Do?" Twilight pants out.

Celestia claps her hooves together in a show of applause, offering a sunny smile to Twilight. "Most excellently, my young pupil. And to think, at your age most unicorns can only manage basic levitation. There are some flaws to be worked on for sure, but you can rest easy knowing that you are quite the talented little filly. Now..." Celestia's gaze shifts from Twilight to Rainbow Dash. "I believe it is your turn to showcase what you can do?"

Rainbow Dash grins and flaps her wings, bolting up into the air. "Aw, yeah! It's about time! Now stand back and watch something truly awesome!" Twilight groans and rolls her eyes in response, but quickly turns back to attention. Unlike Rainbow Dash, it takes absolutely no chiding to get Twilight to pay attention; Annoying or not, a chance to study the flight motions of a skilled Pegasus's flight routine is an enticing opportunity.

Happy to have a captive audience, Rainbow Dash takes off. The princess isn't expecting you to perform at full strength, so you don't have to do the rainboom. Just show off your agility and techniques, that should be enough. Rainbow Dash tells herself, clenching her jaw as she flies almost straight up before falling over backwards to enter into a spinning corkscrew.

Twilight clenches up in fear seeing the pegasus getting so close to the ground, only to have Rainbow pull up at the last moment.

Hearing the gasp of concern from the bystander on the ground only emboldens Rainbow Dash more, who laughs and grins broadly as she commits to a daring race through the canopy of the trees. Glancing back to see the reactions from the two ponies watching, Rainbow self-confidently mentally pats herself on the back. There, every bit as impressive if not more than that unicorn. Rainbow Dash returns her attention to her flight path...

Just in time to see, but not dodge, an oncoming tree branch. Though the pegasus filly desperately tries to swerve to avoid it, all she manages to do is impact the branch with her belly instead of her face, the high-speed impact knocking the air clean from her lungs, as her insides do all kinds of motions they probably aren't supposed to. The pegasus can't even cry out in surprise, shock, or pain, or even do much of anything; Instead, she simply falls like a brick, all her forward momentum gone just like that, wings stretched out at awkward angles. She almost lands directly on her wings, likely risking far more serious damage than the impact had caused as she plummets out of the air towards a mean-looking boulder directly underneath her, but is caught just in time by Celestia's telekinesis.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you ok?" Even in her currently dazed and wounded state, Rainbow Dash registers a slight feeling of surprise to hear the sound of genuine worry in Twilight's voice.

"Stay still and don't move, I'm going to make sure there's no serious damage." Celestia's voice is calm, measured, authoritative. Even so, there is a definite undercurrent of worry beneath it, held in check to act quickly and professionally. Rainbow Dash finds herself levitated down into a gentle hold within Celestia's wings. A golden glow quickly passes over Rainbow Dash, as Celestia's magic sweeps through her to scan for injuries. Rainbow Dash tries to reply through the thudding pain in her ribs, but she still can't seem to inflate her lungs, this awful feeling of suction holding them shut inside her chest.

An utterly bizarre sensation fills her lungs as she feels her diaphragm gripped by Celestia's magic, relaxing it by force and causing her to involuntarily suck in a huge gulp of air. A groan escapes her lips as she breathes in and out, each breath painful. But at least it's better than that feeling of suffocating suction from before. Blearily, Rainbow Dash looks up, blurrily making out the worried visage of Celestia, highlighted against the sun behind them, wings gently cradling Rainbow Dash's form. "How do you feel? Can you speak? If it hurts too much, then shake your head." Celestia instructs, clearly enunciating each word while Twilight stands nearby, looking at the pegasus filly anxiously.

"I'm... Ha... Fine. Takes more than that to... Keep me down!" Rainbow Dash weakly smiles up at the monarch, cringing internally. Far worse than the bruising and pain in her chest is the injury to her pride.

Celestia breathes a sigh of relief, and much to Rainbow Dash's surprise, wraps their hooves around the pegasus filly in a hug. Rainbow Dash blinks up at the sky in surprise. "Thank goodness..." Celestia releases Rainbow Dash, and sets the filly gently onto the ground. "You don't seem to have broken any ribs. You're a very lucky pegasus." Celestia stands up to their full height, towering over Rainbow Dash, and frowns with a more stern expression. "Everypony knows you're a talented flier already, Rainbow Dash. You would not be here if you were not. You must focus less on showboating and more on safety and technique."

Rainbow Dash snorts, averting her gaze. "p-pfft, yeah right, it was just a fluke..." She mumbles, cringing. Stupid, stupid!

Rainbow Dash's blustering is immediately put to an end when transfixed in Celestia's cold, steely gaze. "Your safety will always take the highest priority to me, Rainbow Dash. If I cannot trust that you will fly safely, then I am afraid I can't in good conscience allow you to perform at all. If you are to be my student, I must know that you take this seriously. Today a mistake might cost you only a bruised ego, but if you make an error when attempting more advanced maneuvers, you may well cost yourself or somepony else their life. Am I understood?" The warmth in Celestia's voice had utterly disappeared, leaving only a cold and authoritative tone that reminds all present they were speaking to the reigning monarch of all Equestria. Rainbow Dash shivers, and gulps nervously.

"Y-yes, Princess. I-I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Rainbow Dash stammers out meekly, bowing her head. Celestia's gaze softens in response, and their wing lightly curls around the pegasus's frame.

"Good. I understand your drive to prove yourself, but I know from personal experience that such drive can lead to terrible consequences. You must learn to temper your ambition with caution and think carefully about your actions." Celestia advises, their tone steadily returning to its more usual melodious nature. "Your recklessness has affected your flight style, as well. I've noticed that you keep your wings in an anhedral position even when flying in a straight line. Such a position reduces your stability, which does allow for faster maneuvers, but is only an unnecessary danger when flying normally. You should train yourself to keep your wings spread evenly at all times that you aren't trying to perform a rapid turn."

Rainbow Dash blinks up at the princess. "Um, an-heed-whatnow?"

"Anhedral! it means that you had your wings at a downward angle from your body!" Twilight pipes up.

Celestia smiles in response. "Very good, Twilight." The princess spreads their wings out, showcasing the different angles they could be held at. "If you are trying to glide as fast as possible in a straight line, around this position is the most effective." Celestia instructs, holding their wings angled slightly forwards and upwards. "An ideal balance between low drag, and stability. Now..." Celestia's attention turns to Twilight. "I believe it is time I provide you with instruction, as well. Your grasp of the fundamentals of spellcasting is formidable, but you seem to have too much focus only on the academic aspects of spellcraft. You must work on your form, your stance. Allow me to demonstrate..."

The Aristocrat

Celestia hums gently as they trot down the hallways towards the throne room. They'd almost forgotten how much they enjoyed tutoring ponies, seeing the smiles on their faces as they discovered their own unique talents, helping to guide them through their challenges...

But now is not the time for that, any longer. They'd set aside as much time as they could for their two students, but royal duties still called, and they could not put them off any more. Rainbow Dash and Twilight had been escorted to the school proper for general classes, and now it is time for Celestia to perform their own function.

Taking a deep breathe, Celestia steels themself to present their more regal, authoritative self before pushing open the door to the throne room.

"Your highness!" The first of the guards on duty quickly salutes the princess, falling in lockstep beside them while they walk towards the throne. "Sir Platinum Legacy is in the waiting chamber, he arrived around an hour ago and has been petitioning to see you ever since."

Celestia groans in dismay as they sit on the throne, sighing with resignation. They couldn't very well put Platinum off any longer, considering how much influence he held among Canterlot high society. "Very well. Send him in. Oh, and I'm sure he'll want to see his sons, as well, so please call them to the waiting room while you're at it." The guardspony salutes before turning and striding off to fulfill their orders.

Celestia need not wait long before the gates at the front of the throne room are pushed open, allowing the aristocratic stallion into the audience chamber. Platinum is a middle aged unicorn stallion, with a well-groomed blue mane and white coat accompanying a self-assured, confident bearing. He does not even spare a glance at either of the guardsponies before him, striding up to the center of the chamber and slightly dipping his head in a token display of fealty. "Your majesty." The stallion raises his head back up to look Celestia in the eyes.

Celestia studies the bearing of the pony before them, quite well aware the stallion opposite them is doing the same. Platinum Legacy is a well respected, powerful aristocrat, a veteran of the royal guard, as well as the current patriarch of one of the oldest noble families in Canterlot. Unlike his predecessor, however, Legacy could be... Willful in his meetings with the princess. Carefully choosing their words, Celestia responds in due time. "Greetings, and welcome to my court, Sir Legacy. I trust this is no casual visit? What brings such a busy stallion as yourself before me?"

Platinum's gaze remains placid and unmoving, revealing nothing of what went on under the surface. "Of course, I would not waste your time on anything less. I have been speaking with the other noble families on the matter of some of your recent decisions, and I believe I speak for many of my fellow nobles when I say... The aristocracy would appreciate some clarification regarding your reasoning." The stallion clears his throat before continuing. "It seems like an odd decision to embark on such an… Ambitious set of military reforms now of all times, considering the long period of peace we are presently having. My associates and I are concerned that the increased tax burden will negatively affect Equestria's competitiveness in the upcoming trade season. Surely you are aware that prench goods are already out-competing many of the sellers in our domestic market?"

Celestia is, in fact, quite well aware of that fact; The general lack of worker safety laws in prance and its poorly-paid underclass of earth pony laborers practically assures it. "If that is the case, then surely you must also be aware that the changes to the tax codes should not negatively impact the sectors of the economy involved in trade with Prance. In fact, part of the new regulations includes tariffs on imports from Prance, so if that is your concern, I must assure you it is unfounded.”

“Perhaps. But these new tax regulations set a… Worrying precedent. If reforms of the Royal Legions are truly necessary—and I am sure that you know best if that is necessary, your highness—Then why not simply take out a levy? A restructuring of the royal legions is surely expensive, but given that you have not expanded their ranks, the cost should not be more than a single time expense.” Platinum Legacy motions with a hoof. “Or even better, perhaps simply take money out of less… Vital projects. Like this infrastructure development project in Somnambula. I cannot fathom why some distant backwater warrants such an investment.”

Celestia shakes their head firmly. “Nonsense. That railway project is of critical strategic and economic importance for our relations with Zebrica and Saddlarabia, to to allow us to project power into southern Equestria. Particularly necessary, since the zebra’s have been disputing our borders as of late.”

Platinum Legacy nods, relenting on that note at least. “Very well. Still, my first suggestion stands. Why not take out a levy? It would be less of a burden than these reforms. These are sure to be difficult to implement, considering how different they are from our existing tax codes. This new… ‘land value tax’ alone will require a detailed survey of all properties in Equestria to determine values, and nopony knows exactly what the results will be. Such uncertainty is not healthy for the economy. And doubly so, if these increased funds are required, why would you abolish the poll tax?”

Celestia shakes their head. “It is true that increased funds are necessary to reform our military and expand our infrastructure, but that is not the primary cause of these reforms. The old system of collecting a fixed sum from everypony disproportionately affected those already in poverty, it may have functioned well enough back when Equestria was made up of rural settlements of farmers, but we have urbanized now and the codes must be updated to reflect that.”

The aristocratic stallion winces, as if in discomfort. “Some would argue that introducing a wealth tax breaks faith with many of the old families. These ‘updates’ as you say threaten the livelihoods and estates of many of Equestria’s oldest and most ardent supporters. Doubly so, because those you rely upon to enact your will, who serve you faithfully, were not consulted on these decisions.”

Celestia carefully avoids grimacing. Of course, Platinum is not truly concerned about the state of the Equestrian economy; That is all just for show. Their real concern, of course, is maintaining the privileges of their lineage. But he is not entirely incorrect; Celestia does rely upon the aristocrats to enact their will. I will have to tread carefully here, for the sake of Equestria.

“It is not anticipated that these changes will greatly impact the traditional estates of the nobility.” Celestia states, carefully choosing each word. The ‘traditional’ estates of the nobility, of course, meant those in the countryside, the feudal holdings of rural villages where the nobles collected local taxes; a source of income which had, in recent years, become rather insignificant compared to investments in more urban centers, particularly Canterlot. “The combination of land value, luxury, and income taxes are likely to affect urban centers far more than rural territories where land value is comparatively low and many of the locals have very little income, simply living off of their own yields. As long as the nobles' territories remain productive, they should have no issues maintaining their usual lifestyle.”

“This is all very speculative, Princess. I can only hope you are correct.” Platinum states icily. “These changes are very dramatic and sudden. I believe concern is only a reasonable reaction.” The stallion pauses for a second, as if considering, before continuing. “Further, I feel it is necessary to inform you, some of the other nobles I have spoken with feel that these… Moral taxes are overstepping the bounds of the State. Surely you do not mean to enforce your will upon your subjects in such a brazen manner? Please, put these concerns to rest.”

“It is a well known fact that the excessive consumption of alcohol among… Other substances, is a drain on society. In particular, there is a great annual expenditure on medical attention resulting from alcohol consumption. These taxes are simply to compensate for this financial burden on the state, not to govern anyponies behavior. The same can be said to explain the lack of sales tax on some other goods, which are liable to pay for themselves through the benefits they carry.” Celestia explains patiently.

The stallion’s mouth quirks almost imperceptibly, but he nods. “I cannot guarantee my associates will be keen to accept such a change. But very well. I would, however, have to advise you delay these changes, take them into council. Even if some of these changes must be pushed through, surely it would be best to take this more slowly to avoid more disruption to society.”

And allow the aristocracy to stall for another decade? Not likely. Celestia clears their throat, and shakes their head firmly. “I have laid down my decree, and as always, it is final. We cannot afford to simply wait, when larger threats are breathing down our necks.”

"And what larger threats might those be?" Platinum inquires, his eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly. "I must say, considering your recent move to take in a commoner as a new student—and a pegasus, no less—some are concerned you are seeking to curry favor before launching some manner of unpopular initiative. The buildup of military assets only heightens those fears, I'm afraid. I'm sure these rumors are baseless, but perhaps if you could explain your intentions more clearly, I could help calm the nerves of my associates?"

And here we come to the crux of the matter. Reading between the lines is not difficult, knowing Platinum. As ever, the aristocracy has one primary concern even above holding onto their wealth; preserving their status at the top of Equestrian society. "You are well aware of the imminent return of Nightmare Moon, Platinum, and the new warlord upstart in the Badlands is growing increasingly powerful as well. There are other dangers, as well, of which several are classified."

Platinum can't help scoff at this latest suggestion. "Please. Princess, I should hope you have more respect for my intelligence than to try and scare me with bogeyponies from ancient legends." The stallion's expression quickly regains its usual, more stoic composure. "And I hardly believe some southern barbarian poses a threat to our esteemed royal guard."

Celestia raises a brow questioningly. "Are you so confident? Equestrian intelligence has revealed a frightening degree of technological sophistication among our potential enemies. The guard cannot remain complacent in the face of these new threats." No matter how much you aristocrats want to keep us in the past. Celestia internally adds, carefully keeping their expression placid.

"Even so." Platinum Legacy motions with a hoof. "That would still not explain your decision to take in this pegasus from Cloudsdale. It's concerning enough that your unicorn student is from a cadet branch of a minor family, but now this. Surely one of the scions of a major dynasty would be more suitable. Take my son, for instance, you are well aware he is a prodigy in magical combat..."

Celestia fights a rising internal tide of irritation. "And your sons are indeed a well regarded member of the Royal Companions. You should be proud. But that is neither here nor there, as I do not believe they are in critical need of guidance. This 'commoner' as you say is a proud pegasus, reckless yet possessed of remarkable ability which I believe needs to be further honed, for the good of both her and Equestria. I would be shirking in my duties if I did not endeavor to support her in any way possible."

Platinum Legacy's stoic expression slips for just a fraction of a second as he grimaces. "Please. What could a commoner like that do that is so impressive? Talent is in ready supply here in Canterlot, it flows in the veins of all the old families. There is no need to go scraping the bottom of the barrel abroad."

"Oh? I was not aware that anypony in Canterlot had performed a sonic rainboom. That must have been quite the feat, considering how difficult it is for a unicorn to fly." Celestia replies, dryly.

Platinum blanches in response. "A sonic rainboom? I suppose you must be claiming this... Pegasus filly, was responsible for the magical shockwave which swept across Equestria?" The stallion can't help but sneer at the notion. "With all due respect, Princess, I simply cannot fathom how you expect anypony to believe one of low blood could have done such a thing. The only logical explanation is..." Platinum trails off as he is firmly fixed in Celestia's icy, disapproving glare.

"Are you calling me a liar, sir Legacy?" Celestia's tone raises as they take on the traditional Canterlot voice; an appropriate measure, for dealing with such a traditionalist pony as the one before them.

Quickly realizing that he had overstepped his bounds, Platinum abruptly bows his head. "O-of course not, your majesty. Forgive my intrusion."

Celestia's disapproving gaze eyes the stallion for a long moment before replying. "And that 'pegasus filly', as you keep referring to her as, has a name. Rainbow Dash. You will treat her with the respect her accomplishment deserves."

The Stallion's carefully measured expression does not betray any hint of the contempt that must surely be boiling inside of his veins. "Of course, your highness. Perhaps I may see this pegasus in person, that I might apologize directly?" The question lingers in the air.

Still trying to get more information, I see. You don't know when to quit, do you? Celestia settles back into their throne and takes on a more relaxed tone when responding, not wanting to be seen as overtly hostile. "There is no need. It would be best if she was not distracted from her studies."

If Platinum Legacy is disappointed, his expression does not reveal it, as he simply bows his head. "Yes, of course. I suppose that concludes my business here, as I would not wish to waste any more of your precious time. However, while I am here, may I have your permission to speak with my sons? While I am very proud of them, you know that I do not get to see them very often, as diligent as they are in their duties they rarely come to visit..."

If nothing else, being given permission to go to the barracks would give Legacy a chance to snoop around the palace; technically he could do so at any point in time, given that he himself was an ex-royal guard captain. But he probably viewed it as less suspicious if he had a reason for being there. Fortunately, Celestia had expected this. "Of course. You will find them in the waiting chamber, I sent for them before our meeting. I hope your reunion is pleasant."

The aristocrat bows his head. "Thank-you, your majesty. You are as thoughtful as ever."

Author's Note

Whats that? An entire chapter about taxes? Truly, I am a master of keeping things interesting. Everypony loves reading about taxation!

Accidentally posted this chapter late today... Hopefully that doesnt impact it too much.

Academy Days

As the doors to the throne room ease open once again, Mooncrescent perks up from where he had been lying in wait. "Hey, Blazey! I think 'Lestia is done holding court, maybe we can go find out why they called us up..." Mooncrescent's enthusiastic tone and expression falters upon seeing who actually struts out of the throne room, and the momentarily ago optimistic tone of the colt gives way to a groan of dismay.

"Oh. It's just father. I guess that explains it." Mooncrescent sighs heavily as Platinum Legacy catches sight of the two of them, strutting towards the pair with characteristic disdain for his surroundings, not so much as affording the other attendants and guardsponies a glance.

"Mooncrescent. Starblaze. Follow." Platinum Legacy instructs authoritatively, not so much as giving a glance back to make sure his sons are doing as he asked, while he makes his way to the palace gardens; likely the only place on palace grounds where a conversation can achieve anything resembling privacy.

Mooncrescent and Starblaze exchange an unsure glance before trotting along after their father. As usual, it is quite impossible to estimate his mood while he is making any effort to conceal it. But as the two colts follow their father outside, Platinum Legacy wheels on the two of them with irritation no longer hidden now that nopony else was around to see.

"What, precisely, have you two been doing since you came here?" Platinum Legacy spits out, eyelid twitching with irritation.

"Uh, training?" Mooncrescent starts responding dismissively, before Starblaze steps in front of him, protectively.

"My apologies, Father." Starblaze lowers his head deferentially. "I received an injury a few days ago, which confined me to the hospital for some time. Is there something I may have neglected to do while I was there?"

Platinum Legacy snorts. "Quite! Two of my own sons right here in Celestia's court, and yet I didn't hear of these tax code changes any sooner than the rest of the nobility. This could have been a prime opportunity to exploit if either of you were doing your jobs."

"Hey! Blazey and I have been working really hard, alright?" Mooncrescent protests, stamping a hoof indignantly.

"At what? Parading around in uniform? combat drills?" Platinum's voice is drenched in sarcasm. "I fail to see what could possibly be so important to warrant missing out on what could be vital intelligence for our family."

"Of course, Father. I will endeavor to keep my ear closer to the ground in the future." Starblaze promises, head bowed. This seems to at least partially ameliorate his father's misgivings, as Platinum Legacy does seem to relax somewhat.

"See that you do. While you're at it, I believe you two are near Celestia, correct? See if you can't dissuade the princess from these ludicrous new tax laws." Platinum Legacy groans. "I will need to act quickly to ensure our families position is not threatened by this. All of our holdings are going to need to be re-evaluated... Heavens, it's going to be such a hassle." The stallion's attention snaps back to his two sons once again, evaluating them with an icy stare. "See that you do. I've allowed you to pursue this calling only because our family needed a presence in Celestia's court. If you continue to shirk in your duties, then I will have no choice but to recall you and assign somepony with more diligence to this task."

Starblaze glances back at his younger brother, noticing the characteristic look of fuming that usually precipitated a heated debate. Before Mooncrescent can say anything to aggravate the situation, Starblaze holds him back with one leg. "Of course, Father, we understand."

Platinum Legacy stares at Starblaze for a long moment, before eventually nodding. "Good. I had best get back to our estate and run some damage control, try to figure out how these new laws will affect our position. Keep me informed, and you won't have to see as much of me."

Mooncrescent glares at the retreating figure of his father as Platinum Legacy departs back for the aristocratic dwellings on the upper terraces of Canterlot. "You know, for as much as he talks about family, he sure doesn't ask us how we've been doing." Mooncrescent states sullenly.

Starblaze turns to Mooncrescent, letting out a deep breath. "I know, Crescy. But you really need to let me do the talking when he comes around, you don't want us to get recalled back home."

Mooncrescent looks away, face twitching in irritation. "Hmph. Celestia wouldn't let him take us back just like that. They like us."

"Do you really want to risk it?" Starblaze pleads. "You know how father can be when he wants his way about something."

Mooncrescent gaze goes down to the ground, grumbling. "I know... I'm sorry. I'll try and reign it in better, next time." Mooncrescent promises. quirking his mouth in frustration. "I just... He acts like what we're doing has no value! Equestria still needs defenders, right?" Mooncrescent pleads, looking up at Starblaze as if seeking confirmation.

Starblaze nods. "Of course, Crescy. Don't let him get to you. He's just the same as he's always been." Starblaze's lip curls into a derisive grimace for a moment, before he turns back to Mooncrescent. "C'mon, let's go get a bite to eat, then we can get back to training." Starblaze offers, jerking back with his head.

Mooncrescent nods, looking a little glum, and the pair trot off to the palace kitchens.

[...]

It is about the usual lunch break for the cadets in training, and so predictably, the kitchen is rather stuffed with a variety of guardsponies, most of whom are part of the Palace Guard rather than the Royal Companions like the brothers. Pulling up a couple seats, Mooncrescent and Starblaze sit down next to a couple fellow cadets; Pearl Glow and Shining Armor.

"Your old stallion give you much trouble?" Shining Armor asks the pair, propping up his head on one hoof leaning over the table.

Starblaze just groans in response, leaving Mooncrescent to answer. "He's just bugging us about not getting him enough information again, and threatening to pull us out of cadet school if we don't work on it."

Shining Armor's eyes dart around a little in response. "You might want to keep that down. If Blueblood hears you say that out loud, he'll probably try to blackmail you with it." Shining Armor hisses out. After all, if their father discovered how loose the two colts were with their supposed 'mission', it would not go well for them.

"It's fine. He's over there harassing some poor soul." Mooncrescent justifies, jerking a hoof over to the center of the room.

"Wait, isn't that...?" Shining Armor starts, raising a brow, watching as the Prince stalks around their quarry; a rather out-of-place looking, prismatically-maned pegasus filly, currently trying to put on a brave face.

"What a sad state of affairs." Blueblood was saying, wrinkling his nose at the filly as if she smelled bad. "To think, they'll let just anypony into the royal guard these days. Even unwashed commoners without any sense of proper etiquette like yourself." The noble's words are filled to bursting with contempt, as his disapproving gaze sweeps over the filly's unkempt mane and casual demeanor.

Rainbow Dash flares out her wings, taking up a defensive posture with an expression to match. "I performed a sonic Rainboom and was invited here by Princess Celestia themself! I'm not 'just anypony'!" She postures, while Blueblood simply rolls his eyes.

"Oh, please, I'm sure you did. Celestia is just showboating, picking some gutter rat up and elevating them to our esteemed organization to look good for the presses. I'm sure once she's done milking you for all the good publicity your worth, you'll be dropped back off in... Whatever backwater dump they fished you out of." Blueblood replies dismissively. "In the meantime, know your place, commoner. And heavens, try to show some class when you make your mane in the morning!"

Rainbow Dash growls and stretches upright. "I earned my place here, I wouldn't be here otherwise! And I come from a perfectly nice city, Cloudsdale doesnt even need gutters!" The pegasus filly protests loudly. "You take that back before I make you!"

Blueblood smirks in response. "Oh my, well if you'd care to defend the supposed honor of whatever nameless family you come from, you could always challenge me to a duel. Of course, a lowborn like you wouldn't stand a chance against my talents."

Rainbow Dash looks ready to commit the admittedly foolish decision of taking up Blueblood on the offer, but before she can, their conversation is interrupted. "That's enough, Blueblood!" Starblaze calls out, marching over to the older aristocrat. "If you keep this up, I'll be the one you're dueling, and I don't know if your family could bear the shame of losing yet another bout. Don't you have better things to be doing than harassing the princesses new student?"

Blueblood stiffens at the sound of Starblaze's voice, eyeing up the unicorn with easily discerned loathing. "Princesses new student or not, she'll never be more than a wretched commoner as far I care. I suppose I have no need to waste more of my precious time on such a lowlife." Blueblood announces, stalking off with as much of his dignity intact as he can.

Rainbow Dash puffs out a cheek, pouting. "I coulda taken care of him myself..." She protests, mumbling under her breathe. it was hardly the first time she had to deal with bullies; though, granted, this bully in particular had a noteworthy size advantage over her.

Starblaze just chuckles. That attitude was one he was well acquainted with, from dealing with Mooncrescent. "Course you could've, but then you'd have gotten in trouble with your teacher. C'mon, sit with us, we'll make sure nopony else bugs you." Starblaze trots over back to where Mooncrescent and Starblaze were sitting without glancing back to see if Rainbow Dash followed. The pegasus filly frowns, glances this way and that, and being met with only hostile gazes from the rest of the aristocrats present, reluctantly follows after Starblaze.

"Hey there, Rainbow!" Mooncrescent greets the filly with a sunny smile as she sits down beside him. "Celestia already put you in cadet school huh? I guess that means we'll be seeing more of eachother from now on." The colt offers in an encouraging tone, trying to put the pegasus at ease in the unfamiliar environs.

Rainbow dash looks up at the unicorn, recognizing the Royal Companion who had helped her find Celestia the other day but not remembering his name. "Hey, uh... um..." Rainbow scratches the back of her head with her hoof, wincing as she tries to remember the guardsponies name.

"Mooncrescent." Shining Armor offers from Rainbow Dash's other side. "And his brother is Starblaze."

Rainbow Dash's gaze drifts over to the pony who had rescued her, eyes lighting up with recognition. "Oh, I remember you! you were the unicorn who was in the infirmary with me! So, you two are brothers? I guess I can see the resemblance." Rainbow Dash notes, observing the duo's white mane's and bluish coats, though Starblaze's is a deep dark blue dappled with white spots while Mooncrescents is a far paler blue, almost white. Both of the colts do, however, have the same golden eyes.

Starblaze nods, sitting on the far side from Mooncrescent. "Yup! Do you have any family back home? I know you flew out here alone, after Celestia scouted you out."

Rainbow Dash nods. "Um, my mom and dad are back in Cloudsdale. I have an uncle too, though I don't really know him. That's about it, I'm an only child."

Starblaze gives Rainbow dash a wistful expression for a moment. "That's a shame. Do you get along with your parents at least?"

Rainbow dash hesitates for only a second before nodding. "Yeah. Though, they can be a bit much sometimes. But they're very supportive."

"Well you got that over us, at least. Father's a pain, and mother's been dead for years." Mooncrescent groans. "How about you, Shining? C'mon, tell the academies latest member about your family!"

Shining Armor leans in at the prompting. "Huh? Oh, I'm the only son of House Twilight. You've met my little sis, Twilight Sparkle. The first daughter of every generation in our family is named Twilight."

Rainbow Dash grimaces. "Yeah, I have. Is she... Always that neurotic?" The pegasus filly asks.

Shining Armor giggles, cracking a smile at Rainbow Dash. "Try and cut her some slack, she's really nervous after getting to be Celestia's new student. She's really a great filly, once you get to know her. I promise."

Rainbow Dash shrugs. "I guess I'll try to keep that in mind." The pegasus pauses, cocking her head while looking at Shining Armor. "What did you hear about me from her?" Rainbow Dash asks, curiously.

Shining Armor laughs more, putting on a coy smirk. "Mostly that you're an insufferable braggart who won't stop talking about how cool she is."

Rainbow Dash's cheeks heat up to bright cherry red. "Hey! I didn't brag that much, and I am awesome!"

Shining Armor shrugs. "I'll tell ya what. You promise to give Twilight a chance, and I'll get Twilight to promise to give you a chance, too. Deal?" Shining Armor asks, extending a hoof.

Rainbow Dash hoofbumps the older colt and nods. "Alright, deal. I'll show her just how cool I am, just you wait." The pegasus puffs out her chest pointedly, swelling up to her full height.

Mooncrescent giggles on the other side. "I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing what you're capable of. If you caught Celestia's eye, you must really be something special. They are, after all, a very busy pony." he playfully bumps Rainbow Dash from the side. "Looking forward to training with ya. How's the academy treating you so far?"

The edges of Rainbow Dash's mouth tilt just slightly downwards. "I dunno. Everypony keeps looking at me. I don't think it's because of my flying or fighting, though. I get the feeling a lot of them don't like me."

Starblaze nods. "I wouldn't think anything of it. Most of us aristocrats are snobby dastards." Starblaze growls and shakes his head, sighing. "The Princess invited you here, so you belong here every bit as much as any of us. I'm sure you'll meet somepony you get along with soon enough." Starblaze gives Rainbow Dash what he hopes is an encouraging smile.

Rainbow Dash nods. "Yeah, you know it! I'm sure somepony around here will start to appreciate how awesome I am." The filly rears her head up proudly.

Mooncrescent giggles in response and ruffles the fillies mane. "Easy there, little filly. For now, why don't you try and get some food in your system before you get to start training again." Mooncrescent suggests, gaze drifting over to Rainbow Dash's meal. "Your... Uhm... Alright, what exactly is that abomination?"

The 'abomination' in question is, of course, none other than Rainbow Dash's chosen lunch; A heaping plate of pasta and sourdough bread with a decided lack of what Mooncrescent would consider appropriate seasoning.

"Free energy is what it is!" Rainbow Dash announces, before chomping down on the concoction. The three companions of the filly stare on in something resembling awe and horror at the same time.

"That's even harder to watch than what the other pegasi usually eat..." Shining Armor utters. Rainbow Dash looks up at the older colt, cocking her head to the side curiously.

"Huh? What do they normally eat?" Rainbow Dash's brow furrows inquisitively.

Shining Armor just smirks, and shakes his head. "Ha, you'll learn in good time. For now, just eat up. Lunchtime's almost over."

[...]

Before long, the bell signalling the cadets to proceed to the training field rings, and Rainbow Dash follows the small crowd out to the courtyard, a particular undercurrent of excitement thrumming inside her chest. The classes of earlier that day had largely been introductions and, even worse, academic tests to see where she placed. But now it is time for something that excites her; She's going to meet her military drill instructor, responsible for her combat and flight training! The unicorn nobles who formed most of the palace guard file off to their own training exercises, leaving only the other fliers with Rainbow Dash.

'Fliers' had to be specified, because to Rainbow Dash's surprise, that category did not exclusively include Pegasi. A handful of chiropterans with their bat-like wings and oddly large irises that completely obscured the sclera are present, as well as, to Rainbow Dash's great surprise, a solitary gryphon. The oldest one present, a chiropteran with vibrant blue eyes and ash-grey coat, steps to the front of the pack and wheels around to address the rest.

"Greetings, cadets. I am Captain Silent Serpent, and I have been assigned as your drill instructor by Celestia themself." The pony's voice and demeanor is not at all what Rainbow Dash had expected; There is none of the bluster that a Wonderbolts captain had, instead she speaks in a clear, calm tone which nonetheless has a particular steely edge behind its apparent gentleness. "To begin, all of you drop and give me twenty-five wingups. Then, we will fly a dozen laps around the palace. On my mark, begin." There is only a brief pause before a whistle sounds. "Mark!"

[...]

Rainbow Dash struggles to keep up with the pack of older fliers, wings burning from exertion as she strains to squeeze more energy from them. She is a fast flier, that much is for sure, but her endurance does not hold up in comparison, and dozens of laps around Canterlot had the effect of pushing her energy reserves to their uttermost limit.

How does she do it..? Rainbow Dash wonders, watching the captain at the head of the pack enviously. The Chiropteran's wings beat the air rhythmically in perfect silence, contrasting the noisy struggling of the rest of the fliers.

And so it is, that when Captain Silent Serpent finally whistles and calls a halt to the laps, Rainbow Dash is relieved to touch down in the field, cheeks flushing with shame at being the second to last pony to finish, ahead of only one other pegasus. "Take ten to recuperate." The captain announces, turning back to the fliers impassively, sitting down with a rigid, upright posture with the appearance of perfect patience.

Not really what I expected... Rainbow Dash sighs, breathing heavily, and flops onto the ground. Most of the other cadets are collected in small groups, clearly already knowing eachother, leaving Rainbow Dash as the odd one out.

Well, not the only odd one out; The gryphon is also alone. No surprise there. If she's anything like Gilda, she's probably having a hard time fitting in. Making up her mind, Rainbow Dash trots over to the gryphon cadet and collapses next to her to rest her tired wings.

"Good... Flying out there." Rainbow Dash gets out between breaths. The gryphon looks at the pegasus filly, surprised to be spoken to, and nods.

"Thanks. You, too. I'm surprised to see a pegasus as young as you at cadet school. You from a military family?" The gryphon asks, eliciting a shake of the head from Rainbow Dash.

"Nah. Actually, Celestia themself came all the way to Cloudsdale to ask me to be their student, after I did the sonic rainboom!" Rainbow Dash brags. That's never going to get old, ha. "But I'm just as surprised as you. I didn't think there were any gryphons in the palace guard."

The gryphon stiffens for a moment, analyzing Rainbow Dash carefully as if trying to see if she should take offense from the statement, but visibly relaxes once she notices that Rainbow Dash's statement is made out of only curiosity and not malice. "Hrm. You must be Rainbow Dash, then. Explains the mane. I'm Glyndwr, I was raised outside of Gryphonstone so I'm a bit of an outlier anywhere I go." The gryphon winces "I don't think the Canterlot types like having me around."

'Glyndwr', huh? Mare, gryphon names are something else. Rainbow Dash thinks, smiling and bumping the gryphon's shoulder with her hoof. "Ha, me neither. I think they're jealous that a pegasus from Cloudsdale got picked up by the princess instead of them." Rainbow Dash gives a cocky grin. "What do you say we stick around eachother, watch eachother's backs?"

Glyndwr makes a face with her beak which Rainbow Dash knows from experience with Gilda is the closest that a gryphon gets to smiling. "Hm, I think you've got yourself a deal." The beaked face of the gryphon appraises Rainbow Dash curiously. "You sure are casual. Most ponies think I'm going to try to eat them when I see them."

Rainbow Dash shrugs. "I had a gryphon friend, back in Cloudsdale, so it's nothing new to me." Rainbow Dash's eyes flash further open in alarm. "Oh, shoot! I just realized, I got here like a week ago and I haven't written her once! Grah..." Her hoof finds its way up to her forehead, groaning.

"Breaks up. Everypony, at attention." The captain's voice cuts through the chatter eerily well considering how relatively soft it is. "To start with, we're going to learn the basics of flying in formation. Get those wings ready."

Rainbow Dash groans, stretching out her still-sore wings, and stands up, exchanging a glance with Glyndwr before falling in line with the rest of the fliers present.

Scuffle in the Library

In the weeks to come, Rainbow Dash and Twilight both settle into their respective new routines. Normal classes at the Canterlot Cadet Academy or Celestia's School of Magic, together with tutoring from Celestia whenever the princess can make time; usually, early in the mornings. Twilight gets to go home on the weekends, while Rainbow Dash simply has to stay at the palace full time.

That is not to say that studying is all they do, of course. Even if Twilight may have preferred it that way, circumstances had come to grant the unicorn certain responsibilities; most of her free time ended up being spent on taking care of Spike and researching as much as she can about dragons. And much to her chagrin, she would soon learn that Celestia's tutoring involved more than just spellcraft and academics; several of her classes had her attending the cadet academy, mostly for physical fitness and form.

For Rainbow Dash's part, the combination of Silent Serpent's exercises and Celestia's flight lessons work her to a point of exhaustion that she almost doesn't mind the distinctly civil nature of all of her classes. Almost. But even as tired as Rainbow Dash is from the much harsher training regimen than she is used to, the memory of a promise to teach her survival and fighting skills remains at the forefront of her mind.

Despite attending classes at a military school, Rainbow Dash finds to her great disappointment that it really is not that different from normal school, most of the time. Celestia even has her attend some classes at the School of Magic, as apparently the academics there are second to none even outside of the schools primary focus.

Rainbow Dash groans in dismay, staring down at the worksheet before her and wondering, not for the first time, if she had made a mistake coming here. I got here for my flight skills, not my test taking abilities! What gives? Rainbow Dash rubs her face, groaning. To be fair, it isn't like she could learn new flying techniques much faster than she already is, without risking athletic injury. But shouldn't she be able to just rest and chillax, then?

"Can you keep it down over there? You'll wake up Spike." Twilight complains from the other side of the table, not even glancing up at Rainbow Dash as her eyes remain glued to the manuscript below her, her body tightly coiled around the young dragon. Rainbow Dash just blinks at her incredulously; the unicorn filly had finished all of her homework in about twenty minutes, and then went right back into studying. Meanwhile, Rainbow can barely bear to stay still long enough to even read the worksheets. All the words just seem to float around in her jumbled mess of a brain, she can't even parse what it is talking about.

Before Rainbow can reply to the unicorn with something suitably snarky, the doors to the library open with a faint clicking sound. The two students generally have the space to themselves, which is good because if she went back to her own room, Rainbow Dash knows she would just start napping instead of studying almost immediately. So if somepony is entering, then it's most likely...

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight hastily gets up to her hooves and bows her head, while Rainbow Dash instead makes a move to cover her worksheets in embarrassment. The alicorn has to duck their head to enter the chamber, looking around in mild bemusement as they sit down.

"Greetings, my two students. I had a moment to spare, so I thought I would check up on you. How go your studies?" Celestia asks in an egregiously casual tone.

"E-excellent, your highness! Better than excellent!" Twilight blusters. "The palace's archives are simply fascinating!" The anxiousness of the unicorn's voice quickly gives way once she starts talking about her studies, and she opens her book to show Celestia. "For instance, did you know that tuatara have a sort of third eye on their forehead? Its a photoreceptor used to discern day-night cycles, but it can't actually form images, its located under the skin, and its called a 'parietal' eye!"

Rainbow Dash groans and smacks a hoof into her face. "Precisely why would anypony need to know that?" Rainbow Dash asks, pointedly.

Twilight bristles in response, looking offended. "Knowledge is valuable for its own sake!" She protests, looking up to Celestia as if for confirmation.

Celestia nods. "Of course, Twilight Sparkle. I assume you completed your assigned work, before you began reading up on reptilian biology?"

Twilight nods again. "Of course! I just thought that maybe information on reptiles could help me understand how to help this little guy." Twilight squeezes the sleeping dragon curled up between her legs. "But the more I learn, the less it seems like dragons have anything in common with reptiles. I think they're actually closer to birds, despite appearances."

Celestia smiles. "Quite the dutiful caretaker you are, Twilight. And how is your young charge faring?"

"I... Think they're doing well." Twilight offers, cautiously. "They sure sleep alot. But whenever they're awake, they're very well behaved. We've been feeding them a diet of gemstones and carnivore feedstock." Twilight winces, trying not to think too much about what exactly went into carnivore feed. The little dragon is, after all, not the only meat-eater that ponies kept as pets. "It seems to be working, they shed their scales for the first time a few days ago and the new coat is really shiny and healthy looking."

Rainbow Dash sighs, mind blanking out again. She guesses she can't give Twilight too much of a bad time for that, taking care of a little dragon is a big responsibility and learning all she can about it does seem warranted. Just as she is ready to completely mentally check out, however, Celestia turns to her. "And how about you, Rainbow Dash? You look troubled."

"Uh, Troubled? I guess you could say that." Rainbow Dash motions at her worksheets in consternation. "I thought I came out here to learn how to fly, fight, and navigate with the best of them! Not learn math!" Rainbow Dash grumbles in irritation.

Celestia watches the young pegasus carefully for a moment, selecting their words carefully. "I know you may not be interested in these subjects, but I promise you, having a wider breadth of knowledge will open up many doors to you in the future. You may find yourself thankful you learned these things, one day." Celestia steps closer, and Rainbow Dash defensively hides her worksheets.

"Doors, schmoors! What does an awesome flier like me need with all this carp?" Rainbow Dash blusters, triggering a gasp of horror from Twilight at the outright insubordination of the other filly. "I should be out there giving threats to Equestria what-for and inspiring ponies with my flight skills!"

Celestia raises a brow. "Oh? So what you're saying is, you believe that you are too good for studying?" Celestia gives Rainbow Dash a sly smile. "I'll tell you what. If you can prove that you're as awesome as you say, then I will allow you to focus only on your athletics. Shouldn't be a problem for a pony of your talents, I'm sure?"

Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise, not expecting to actually get her way. Hopping up out of her chair, she looks up at Celestia, suspiciously. "And, what exactly do I have to do to prove it?" She questions.

Celestia's smirk only grows. "Just land a single hit on me. If you can do that, then I will relent, and acknowledge that such a brave warrior has no need for academics." Twilight shoots Celestia a horrified look at that suggestion, while Rainbow Dash just grins, cracking her front hooves.

"That's all? Oh, this'll be too easy! Just you watch!" Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes. I'm the fastest pony there is, all I have to do is strike at full speed and they won't know what hit them!

"Not in here!" Twilight shouts, startling Spike awake and Rainbow Dash out of her focused stance, as Twilight dives to cover her precious books as well as possible. "If you're really going to do this, go do it somewhere that won't destroy all the books!"

Celestia giggles, horn lighting up. "Relax, Twilight. I will shield the books from harm. Well, Rainbow Dash?" She offers to the pegasus.

Rainbow Dash makes a concerted effort to relax her muscles, appearing as though she isn't going to make a go at it, before diving full bodily through the air at Celestia, bolting from the ground with every single ounce of speed she can muster. Much to her surprise, she ends up flying straight through an empty space before colliding with the dim yellow pulse of a shield over the books. She hadn't even seen Celestia move, and they certainly hadn't teleported; Rainbow Dash would have heard it.

Thinking quickly on her hooves, Rainbow Dash sprinboards from the shield spell-it somewhat reminds her of how clouds feel, slightly spongey and elastic-back towards Celestia's new position. The alicorn princess simply yawns and shifts the bare minimum amount required to not be clipped by Rainbow Dash's wing, the alicorn's own broad white wing stretching out casually above the hurtling pegasus. Rainbow Dash growls in frustration and twists in midair, bringing her hoof down from above, only for Celestia to lean back out of reach.

Twilight just watches from the sidelines, wincing and tensing up every time it seems like Rainbow Dash might land a blow on either Celestia or the books around her. Celestia's casual show of making every blow just barely miss is interrupted when Rainbow Dash launches a flying kick right after feinting with her right forehoof, forcing Celestia to spring sidewards with remarkable agility, landing on their hooves to the side with an approving look. Finally, as Rainbow Dash surges forwards once again, swinging her left wing down towards Celestia, the alicorn catches the pegasus's wing and, ducking beneath it, hurls Rainbow Dash all the way across the room, swiftly catching her in their magic before she can get hurt, and lightly setting the exhausted pegasus down on the ground.

"Well, I am suitably impressed." Celestia admits. "You made me actually dodge. Still, a deal is a deal, and I don't believe you managed to land a strike on me."

"Figures..." Rainbow Dash complains, in between panting breaths. "Nopony has... Given me any... Combat lessons... Yet."

Celestia cocks their head to the side, appraising the young pegasus. "You wish to learn how to fight already? Hrm. I was planning to wait until you were older but, if you are so eager, perhaps we can see about starting lessons." Celestia gives the pegasus a pointed look. "After you finish your existing work. If we are to begin combat training, I will be certain it won't impede your civil classes first."

Rainbow Dash bolts up eagerly. "Really? You mean it? When can we start?" Seemingly the pegasus had not heard anything past 'starting lessons'. Celestia holds up a hoof, patiently.

"We may start once you have completed your schoolwork. Today, if you are able to manage it by then. But only once I am satisfied that you understand it." Celestia instructs, firmly.

Rainbow Dash wilts, glancing back at the worksheet. "Might as well be a year from now, then..." Rainbow Dash mumbles. The pegasid's stupor is interrupted by the feeling of a wing draped over her, and she looks up in surprise to see that Celestia has sat down next to her, smiling encouragingly.

"I believe that, given proper motivation and guidance, you may surprise yourself. From what I have seen, you possess a remarkably detailed memory, you just lack focus. Allow me to see if I may remedy that." Celestia delicately brushes Rainbow Dash's hooves from the mostly empty worksheet, revealing the various doodles and scribbles which had filled the margins.

Other than a smirk of amusement, Celestia resists reacting to the haphazard 'artwork', and focuses only on the pegasid's unfinished work. "And if you ever need help focusing when I am not around, I am sure Twilight would be eager to assist. But, since I can see that you are struggling, I shall see about giving you more tutoring time. Now, if you look at this problem here..."

Training Session

"I still don't understand why I'm here." Twilight complains, disgruntled. Much to her great dismay, just before Celestia had left the library to return to their duties, the princess had informed her that she would be joining Rainbow Dash for combat lessons.

"I thought you liked learning new things, what gives?" Rainbow Dash asks, flicking a glance backwards at Twilight as she leads the way towards the barracks. She had assured Celestia that she could find the way there herself, so Celestia had left ahead of them to arrange for a tutor to meet them.

"I do! And I was perfectly content learning things in my nice, cozy library." Twilight grumbles.

"C'mon, you gotta be more adventurous than that! We're going to learn how to fight!" Rainbow Dash grins broadly, stopping before the door leading out to the barracks, turning back to wink at Twilight before prancing on outside. Thankfully, her hooves are all healed now, such that one would not be able to tell they were ever injured at all, so she is able to move to her full capability once again.

The faces of their tutors are, to Rainbow Dash, unexpectedly familiar. Mooncrescent and his brother, Starblaze, are busy preparing the clearing set aside for the princesses two students, placing out training dummies, weapon racks, and more. Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise at the two colts only a few years older than herself. "H-huh? What are you two doing here?"

Mooncrescent waves cheerfully at Rainbow Dash and smiles. "Celestia told us you were getting antsy with your studies, and asked us to help give you a break with some combat training! I hope you're ready."

Rainbow Dash shakes her head in consternation. "I... No, why would she assign you two? You're still cadets yourselves! Not to mention, you're not even pegasi. Where's Silent Serpent?" Rainbow Dash asks, notwithstanding the fact that Silent Serpent was also not technically a pegasus.

Mooncrescent shakes his head. "Celestia asked us, not her." He states, firmly. "Most of the old guard were trained in the old ways of combat from before the recent reforms. We're the star pupils of our generation, so nopony else has mastered the new styles as well as us! Trust me, you're in good hooves." The colts disarming smile makes it hard to doubt him.

"And, I think you forgot that your friend here isn't a pegasus either." Starblaze points out behind his brother. "I'm sure Celestia will ask the captain to show you flying combat techniques eventually, but everyponies gotta start with the basics. No matter if they're an earth pony, unicorn, pegasus, chiropteran, or whatever else."

Rainbow Dash quirks her mouth, feeling perhaps a little unsatisfied. But she can't complain too much; she is getting her way, after all. "Alright, then. So, can we get this show on the road?" Rainbow Dash asks impatiently.

"Hold on!" Twilight interjects. Rainbow Dash glances over at the filly and groans; She has the face she gets whenever her curiosity is piqued, meaning she was probably in for a dramatic delay to actually getting started. "What do you mean by 'old ways' and 'new styles', precisely?" And why haven't I heard about this from Shining Armor, for that matter? Twilight silently adds the last part to herself.

Starblaze smiles at the filly while he sits to explain. "Until recently, most of the guard was equipped almost exclusively with spears and shields, despite centuries of development in technology and military tactics since the last major conflict. But Equestrian Intelligence shed some details on foreign weapons development and trends in recent conflicts in Prance and Skyterra which spooked Celestia right and proper, and lead them to adopt a series of military reforms. Most of them are still getting pushed through, since outside of Canterlot its much more difficult for Celestia to rapidly change things around. Drill sergeants need to get rotated around, equipment needs to be swapped out or mothballed... But here in the palace, at least the Royal Companions are already equipped in the new style."

While Starblaze explained, Mooncrescent went to the armory to fetch equipment, and he is now returning with a veritable mountain of odd-looking weapons the likes of which Rainbow Dash has never seen before held in his magic. "Here, put these on! Watch me, I'll show you how." Mooncrescent demonstrates, sliding a vambrace with a mechanical assembly onto his hooves before tightening the straps. Two blades protrude from the vambrace, one on either side of his hoof, but they are currently folded back to rest parallel to his leg, meaning they didn't obstruct his freedom of movement.

With a flick of his hoof, Mooncrescent demonstrates the mechanism, the folding assembly snapping down to place the two blade parallel to the hooves where they curved slightly like a predators claws. And then, equally as quickly, Mooncrescent presses the blades against the ground and twists his hoof at an angle, resulting in the blades folding back up against his leg once more. "They're not as well suited for formation combat as the old spear and shield lines, but these weapons allow much more mobility and better individual combat capability, things which Celestia emphasizes are more important in modern warfare."

Rainbow Dash tries to imitate Mooncrescent, with some difficulty fitting her hoof into the vambrace before flailing it around trying to get the blades to extend. Her tutor giggles and pulls her aside. "No, see, like this. The motion has to be pretty fast or it won't get past the springs in order to snap into place." He explains to the struggling pegasus.

"What about the rest of these? What are they all for?" Twilight asks, motioning towards the variety of other bits and bobs Mooncrescent had brought out. A couple are obvious enough; Bows and hornblades. But others resemble nothing so much as long blades with oddly sinuous curving lines and no apparent grips or straps.

Lifting one in his own levitation, Starblaze twirls a long, double-edged, S-shaped blade embedded with diamonds into the air. "This is a spellblade, its a weapon for unicorns. Once attuned to its wielder, it becomes remarkably easy to control with levitation for you, and very hard for anypony else. I'm personally something of an expert in its use, while my brother generally prefers the use of hoofclaws and hornblades."

Starblaze nods at Mooncrescent, before setting down the blade and picking up some others, which appear similar but are notably shorter, with one side blunted and attached to some kind of harness. "And this is for our resident pegasus. Wingblades. I don't think I need to explain how they work?" Starblaze scratches the back of his head. "...Although, I don't know if I can actually show you how to put them on. We'll just focus on other weapons for now, I guess."

Twilight's disinterest seems to have evaporated in the face of all this new information, and she carefully leans over the spellblade with keen interest. "Attuned to the wielder? How does that work?" She asks, reading the old ponish runes engraved on the blade. "Mooncrescent"... But I thought Starblaze said that he was the one who used the spellblade?

"Ah, noticed the engravings I see." Starblaze lifts the blade again, spinning it around over his head, showing remarkable control over the blade as he sweeps it around his body, between his legs, over the back of his tail, all without the shining silver metal touching him a single time. "We pick out gemstones and resonate with them so that their magic matches our own, making them easier to affect. Then, we engrave runes that hold emotional meaning to ourselves, because magic responds to emotion. So the more deeply the engravings resonate with us, the easier it is for us to wield."

Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes as Twilight continues on the conversation with Starblaze, and focuses her own attention on Mooncrescent, trying to imitate the unicorn's technique to snap the blades out. Eventually, she manages to kick her leg hard enough to snap the blades down, embedding them in the soft soil when she puts her hoof back down again. "Hey, I got it!" She grins. "I'll be a natural at this, just you watch! So what now? We gonna spar?" Rainbow Dash asks, overeagerly.

Mooncrescent just raises a brow in return. With a sudden movement, he sweeps out a leg and kicks out Rainbow Dash's from under her, resulting in the pegasus falling flat onto her face , unable to move her legs to correct her balance with the blades buried in the soil. Standing over the pegasus with a taunting grin on his face, Mooncrescent offers a hoof. "I think you're going to need to learn how to wear the things first before you worry about fighting with them. C'mon, we'll familiarize you with all the different options you have. Then we'll focus on footing, stance, and avoidance. Attacking comes last. Won't be winning any fights if you don't survive, first." Mooncrescent states in a strict tone.

Rainbow Dash grumbles. That's twice in one day now that she'd gone for a fight only to be instantly disabled. Alright, maybe I'm not quite that awesome. Yet. Rainbow Dash's expression turns fierce and determined, and she nods her head. If she wants to stop embarrassing herself, she needs to learn. "Alright, fine." Rainbow Dash replies, pulling herself back up to her hooves by herself.

What follows is about an hour of Mooncrescent simply demonstrating to Rainbow Dash how to move and what stance's work with each of the different kinds of weapons, how to carry them without inhibiting her mobility while still being able to strike at a moments notice. Bows, Hoofclaws, Caestus, long hooked blades which extended perpendicularly to the hooves, and more.

And of course, Twilight analyzing each weapon in detail. Its a constant uphill battle for Starblaze trying to get his pupil to focus on learning how to use the things, instead of just trying to study their inner workings. "These are amazing! I had no idea that Equestria had things like this." Twilight states, enchanted, as she twirls an amethyst-studded spellblade around. It was a training model, not specifically attuned to her, but by matching the gemstones to her magical aura she can feel how easy it is to move.

"Oh, you've seen nothing, yet. You should see what some of the colts in R&D are cooking up." Mooncrescent pipes up. "I've seen some of what they're working on. Full automatons powered by magic engines, prosthetic limbs, mechanized artillery..." The colt shakes his head. "I swear, Equestria is on the verge of some kind of technological revolution."

Twilight's eyes widen in wonder. She would have to ask Celestia to let her see some of that for sure! This is an entire new world of things to study for her. She opens her mouth to ask another question, only to be interrupted by Starblaze loudly clearing his throat to draw her attention back to the matter at hand.

Rainbow Dash tunes out the conversation, trying to focus on her stance. She's back to using the hoofclaws; Out of all the weapons she'd tried, they felt the best to her. "So like this?" She asks, widening her front legs and hunching over.

Mooncrescent shakes his head. "No, your weight is too far forwards. Gonna make it hard to move back quickly if you need to. Try and balance your weight a bit more. And keep your legs bent slightly, that way its easier to spring at a moments notice." The colt demonstrates, taking up a wide stance, carefully balanced, looking a little bit like a panther getting ready to pounce.

Rainbow Dash does her best to follow suit, not quite knowing what to do with her wings as Mooncrescents example didn't exactly have to worry about that. Eventually, she decides to flare them out a ways, to help with her balance. Mooncrescent smiles at her, encouragingly. "Good! Now you're getting it. Now we can start working on some defensive techniques."

Mooncrescent has Rainbow Dash take up position on the opposite side of a small arena from him. The training hoofclaws they are both equipped in are dulled for safety, but even so Mooncrescent places a foam block over the top of his own to ensure no harm comes to his charge. "Should I get one of those too..?" Rainbow Dash asks, cautiously.

Mooncrescent just shakes his head. "Ha, no need. I've gotten hit by much worse than a filly’s blunted training claws before, I'll be just fine. Alright, come on and take a swing at me so I can demonstrate." Rainbow Dash nods, and hesitantly swings one of the two hoofclaws at Mooncrescent, who just ducks out of the way, giving the filly an amused glance. "Faster than that, I'm not going to be able to showcase anything special if you're moving at the speed of a breezy."

Rainbow Dash huffs. Did this pony just call her slow? Alright then, buster, its your funeral. Rainbow dash pounces and swipes a flurry of blows, no longer holding back; claws swinging left, then down in an arc, then up in an uppercut. Mooncrescent leans left, then right, then hops over a swipe, before stomping down with his hoof and pinning Rainbow Dash's hoofclaw in place. Still, the colt seems more enthused than before. "Thats the spirit! Now, did you see how I moved when you went for me? I always dodge just the least amount possible, though it'll take you some practice to get a good enough sense of space to figure out where that is. For now, you should just try to avoid getting hit and learn spacing later. Now, you try."

Mooncrescent lets Rainbow Dash go, and then after making sure the filly is ready, lunges for her. He is moving fast enough to be a threat, but telegraphing his swings enough to give the filly a reasonable chance to react. Rainbow Dash dives to the side, avoiding the first swipe, only for the other hoof to come down and strike her on the muzzle. Thankfully, the foam pads cushion the blow, leaving the only injury to her pride.

"Too predictable. You need to get in your opponents head, move in ways they don't expect so they can't counteract you. And you need to plan ahead." Mooncrescent advises, backing up. "If your first dodge is too extreme, you'll throw yourself off balance and won't be ready for the next hit. Over-correcting can be just as dangerous as under-correcting."

"Yeah, ok, that makes sense." Rainbow Dash confirms, standing back up and getting into stance. Just like with flying. Dodge one obstacle too fast and you'll careen into the next. It makes intuitive sense; now it's just time to put it into practice.

Satisfied that Rainbow Dash is ready, Mooncrescent beckons the filly, standing upright and ready. "Again!"

Letters Home

"Hey, wait up!" Rainbow Dash calls out from behind Twilight, cantering to catch up with the unicorn who is currently reading a book as she walks. Rainbow Dash had prolonged the lessons as much as possible, resulting in Twilight leaving earlier than her when the allotted time slot was over. Athletics simply is not her forte, even if the mechanisms of the weapons are interesting.

Twilight doesn't bother looking up from her book, instead grouchily replying "What do you want?". As if it wasn't bad enough that Rainbow Dash had gotten her pulled away from her studies, now she is trying to talk to her even outside of class?

Rainbow Dash remembers Shining Armor's words from the first day of classes, and swallows her pride to ignore the tone in Twilight's voice, falling in line beside the purple unicorn. "I, um, need your help with something." She admits hesitantly.

Twilight now glances over at her quizzically, raising a brow. It isn't like the pegasus to ask for help with anything, even if she is struggling; her studies showcased that readily enough. Even when Twilight had tried to offer help, Rainbow Dash did her best to brush her off. "Well, that's new." Twilight admits, sliding a placeholder into her book and shutting it before tucking it into a saddlebag. "What with?"

"Well... You're good with words, right?" Rainbow Dash starts uncertainly. "It's just, I've been here for a long while now, and I've barely written home at all. My friends asked me to write to them but, I can't figure out what to write about." Rainbow Dash admits, sheepishly.

Twilight blinks. That is surprisingly sentimental for the pegasus. Glancing back at her saddlebags where her precious books were, Twilight sighs. "I guess I can spare a little while." Twilight reluctantly acquiesces. "But we're going to have to pick up Spike first, and we need to go to my room while we work on it." Twilight states, firmly.

"That's fine by me." Rainbow Dash replies flippantly, carefully hiding the warm gratitude she feels behind a callous demeanor. "So uh, where is Spike?"

"They're at the nursery." Twilight replies. "Celestia said I could leave them there while I'm at class."

Rainbow Dash shakes their head in wonder. "Why does the palace even have a nursery? I mean it's not like anypony who lives here has foals."

"Apparently, ponies who stay at the palace for various reasons sometimes bring their children. Some royal guards use the nursery when they have foals but still have duties to attend to." Twilight shrugs. "I spent a few days there as a foal myself, when my father was working and my mother had to run errands."

Rainbow dash glances over at Twilight with interest. "Really? Your father worked at the palace?" She asks.

Twilight nods. "Uh-huh. He still does, actually. He's a member of the royal guard, just like my brother. But I guess he spends more days on patrol or out in the field, I haven't actually seen him around much. But he goes home on the weekends, just like most aristocrats, since our estate isn't too far from the palace." Rainbow Dash's eyes widen a little. She hadn't realized her fellow student was so well off. Her own origins are quite a bit more humble, after all. Wheeling around, Twilight stops before a colorful door. "Alright, here we are!" She announces, swinging the door open.

"I'll, uh, wait out here." Rainbow Dash remarks gruffly, sitting outside the door. Just a glimpse into the room reveals that it is garishly cutesy in decoration, scattered with dozens of toys. A kindly-looking older mare is present watching over the inhabitants, which presently consists of Spike and some other unicorn foal. As soon as Twilight steps through the passageway, Spike looks up at her, and stands up on wobbling legs, taking a step or two forwards before falling forward onto their front claws and strutting over in quadrupedal mode like a pony.

"Tw... Twig... Twlai!" Spike burbles out, struggling to pronounce the fillies name. Twilight smiles down at the baby dragon dotingly and lays down, allowing them to climb up onto her back. The baby dragon is still physically almost the same as when they had first been born, but its mental development seemed extremely rapid by pony standards, and their coordination had improved at least to the point that they could reach Twilight's back all on their own. Twilight makes a mental note to record her findings; precious little is known about dragon development after all, so this is a research opportunity that few ponies got!

"That's right, Spikey, Twilight's back." Twilight chuckles, before bowing her head to the mare in charge of the nursery. "Thank you for looking after them, Mrs. Watchful."

The mare smiles back benevolently and shakes her head. "It's no problem at all, dear. Spike here is remarkably well behaved for his age. Take care, now."

Twilight stands back up fully and struts out of the room, shutting the door behind her as she rejoins where Rainbow Dash is waiting for her. "Well... Let's be off, then?"

[...]

Rainbow Dash glances around Twilight's room as she follows the purple unicorn inside. Although the layout is very similar to her own room, the filly has already acquired a monumental number of books. Despite the level of clutter, she had the place as organized as possible; Books are stacked in neat towers, as the bookshelves had run out of space some time ago. The decor is also much different from Rainbow Dash's own room, much more conventional Canterlot fair rather than the Cloudsdale-reminiscent furnishings Celestia had provided the pegasus with.

Twilight levitates Spike from her back, and turns to Rainbow Dash. "Alright, so just who is it you're writing a letter to?" She asks, sitting down before her bed while Spike wanders off through the room.

"My friends from Cloudsdale." Rainbow Dash responds. "Cloud Kicker, Fluttershy, and Gilda. And, my parents, too." She admits the last one a little sheepishly.

Twilight raises a brow. "Kicker? Like, one of the-"

Rainbow Dash holds up a hoof to interrupt Twilight, and nods her head. "Yep, like one of the Kicker clan that Shadow Kicker and Rock Kicker were from. Not like she'll ever let me forget about it. She was in Cloudsdale for flight training, I should actually see her around here once flight camp is over."

"And Gilda... That's a gryphon name, isn't it?" Twilight asks, pondering. "You have interesting friends. Alright, pull up a chair."

Twilight sits up at her desk and motions for Rainbow Dash to follow. "Alright, let's get started. ...Where's my quill, I could swear I left it here..." Twilight squints as she looks through the drawers of her desk.

"Um, is that it?" Rainbow Dash draws Twilight's attention over to the fledgling dragon, who is currently scribbling something on the walls with the quill in question. Twilight groans and hastily levitates the quill out of the dragon's reach, who burbles in protest.

"Hey! No, you're making a mess!" Twilight protests, hopping out of the chair once again and racing over to the dragon. "Ugh, we gotta get this cleaned up before the ink dries! Help me out!" Twilight demands.

Rainbow Dash raises a brow. "Uhm, what do you think I am, some kind of maid? Get one of the palace servants to help-" Rainbow Dash is cut off by a baleful glare from Twilight, and she gulps nervously. "...U-uhm, on second thought, I guess it would only be fair since you're helping me..." She hastily corrects herself.

"That's more like it." Twilight replies in a scolding tone that reminds Rainbow Dash that the unicorn filly is her senior by both age and time spent as Celestia's student, even if only by a little in both.

Only after the mess is fully cleaned up and Spike has been delivered into their crib beside Twilight's bed, do the two get to sit down and get to work, with a very neat handful of small scrolls lined up on their ends on one corner while the inkwell and quill sit on the corner of the desk. "So, who would you like to start with?" Twilight asks.

Rainbow Dash purses her lips. She'd written to her parents soon after arriving, and besides of which the two of them had plenty else going on. But Gilda had seemed... Distraught when she'd left. She would never admit it, but it seemed like she was worried about it. "Gilda, I think. Only, I don't really know what to write about. She wouldn't be interested in what I'm studying." Plus, there's no way I'd want to focus on that... I'd look like a total dweeb.

Twilight nods. As incomprehensible as that idea is to her, it also is not exactly surprising after having spent as much time near Rainbow Dash as she had, now. "You must have gotten up to some other stuff since you got here. Maybe talk about your impressions of the city? Have you had a chance to look around?"

Rainbow Dash frowns, shaking her head. "Not really. I was in the infirmary for the first little while, and since then Celestia's been keeping me real busy with studying." Rainbow Dash yawns; just the thought of having to look at math spreadsheets anymore makes her feel exhausted.

Twilight gives Rainbow Dash an almost pitying look. Not that studying was bad, but to not have seen any of Canterlot after being there for this long was a real shame when there was so much history to see just walking around the city. Mentally, Twilight makes a note to take Rainbow Dash out to see the sights, when she got a chance. But that was neither here nor there, right now she has a task. After pondering for a moment, Twilight responds. "Well, why not start with that? That's part of telling how you've been doing since you got here, wouldn't you say?"

Rainbow Dash shrugs. "I guess so. I never really thought of it that way. Alright, so, help me figure out how to word this..."

With Twilight's assistance, Rainbow Dash is able to complete not only her letter to Gilda, but one to Cloud Kicker, Fluttershy, and her parents as well. For once, Rainbow Dash finds herself with some amount of free time, same as Twilight. Though her first instinct is to just leave Twilight's room and return to her own for some well-earned rest, there is one thing she wants to check up on first.

"Whew! Thanks a million, Twi." Rainbow Dash rolls her shoulders, relieved. Twilight just gives her an incredulous look at the overly familiar nickname she had apparently been assigned. "I guess I should get these sent off..." Rainbow Dash states, oddly hesitantly.

Twilight frowns. "Is something the matter? You don't sound like you want to go. Are you nervous?"

Rainbow Dash scoffs at the notion. "What? Me? nervous? Never!" Twilight had to admit, that would have been a rather uncharacteristic reaction, as Rainbow Dash shakes her head and continues. "It's just, I was wondering how that dragon is doing? They spend all their time with you. How are they, um, developing?" Rainbow Dash asks, hesitantly.

Twilight blinks, surprised. This was not something she'd expected. "Huh? Spike? They're mostly pretty well behaved, though they can be kind of a pain sometimes. They seem pretty interested in interacting with whatever I'm doing, so they can get in the way when i'm trying to study, sometimes. ...Why?" She asks, cocking her head to the side, following Rainbow Dash as the pegasus strides over to the crib and hangs over the edge, looking down at the small scaly creature.

"Well, it's just... I dunno, it feels kind of weird. The magic from my rainboom was used to create them, right?" Rainbow Dash asks, reaching out to poke the dragon's cheek, eliciting a squeal from the baby as its claws feebly grasped at the fillies hoof. "I guess I just feel like we're connected somehow. I dunno. Maybe it's silly. You made them, after all."

Twilight nods, strolling up to Rainbow dash's side. "I don't think its silly. Honestly, though, I'm surprised Celestia trusts me to look after them as much as I am. I guess they don't have any other family though, and growing up as a dragon in a pony orphanage..." Twilight winces at the thought. "I guess it makes some degree of sense when I think about it that way. I do feel pretty out of my depth though, even with Cadance helping as much as she does."

The two sit in silence for a moment, while Spike stares up at them. After a moment, Spike tugs on Rainbow Dash's hoof. "R... Rgh... Aybrr... D- as!" Spike blurbles out, as if it was an exclamation.

Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise. "Is... Are they trying to say my name?" She asks, in a hushed tone.

Twilight giggles. "I guess Spike feels a connection too, huh? I think they are." Twilight smiles softly. "They try to say my name sometimes too. They seem barely any different physically from when they first hatched, but they've been developing mentally faster than foals do. I think they'll learn how to talk within a year, if my projections are accurate."

"Wow..." Rainbow Dash murmurs.

Twilight steps back, contemplating. "Why don't we go down to the post office together? I think Spike could use some time outside anyways, they've been cooped up in the palace long enough."

Rainbow Dash shrugs. "Uh, sure, I guess. We'd better hurry though, they'll be closing soon." Gathering up the letters they'd written, Rainbow Dash folds them down under her wing, before to her great surprise feeling a weight suddenly placed upon her back. Glancing back, she is surprised to find the wide eyes of a baby dragon staring into her own, tiny claws grasping at her mane.

Twilight giggles off to the side. "You wanted to see Spike, right? Well, I think they could use some variety in who they get a ride from."

Rainbow Dash blushes and rolls her eyes. How did I end up giving a ride to a baby? this is decidedly less than cool. But at the same time, she can't help but feel a tad honored. Shaking her head, she simply mumbles "Whatever, let's just get going," Before setting off.

The trio do not get far, however, before running into Princess Celestia ascending the stairs even as they were descending. The princess appraises the group with a slight air of amusement, as Rainbow Dash's blush deepens further. "My, I see you are getting along. I'm glad to see it. Pray tell, what triggered this change in attitude?" Celestia asks, bemused.

"I-I'm just on my way to send some letters, and Twilight asked me if I could take Spike with me, since she wanted them to get some fresh air." Rainbow Dash quickly explains, leaving out the part where she'd asked Twilight for help writing the letters in the first place.

Celestia raises a brow. "Send letters you say? You'd best hurry, the post office closes at sundown, and I was just on my way to lower the sun and raise the moon now."

"We'd better hurry, then!" Rainbow Dash yelps. Who knew when she'd have time to go down to the post office again...?

"Hold on just another moment, my little ponies." Celestia requests, blocking Twilight and Rainbow Dash's attempts to charge down the stairs by outstretching their wings. "While I have you here, there is something I should tell you. I'm afraid our morning classes are going to have to be cancelled for the next few days. Something came up on the outskirts, and I am going to have to be away from Canterlot for some time. Your other classes will continue as normal, but I will have to resume tutoring you upon my return. I have asked the royal chefs to make you breakfast during my absence, so you need not worry about that." The princess explains, before retracting their wings once more to allow the pair of fillies and the baby dragon to embark.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash glance at each-other, confused; what could have come up that would require the princess to leave Canterlot with so little notice? But, there is not time to investigate. With Spike clinging to her mane and Twilight close behind, Rainbow Dash bounds off to find the post office before it has time to close.

Expedition

Celestia stares out from the balcony, towards the dark horizon. It is not time yet to raise the sun; they would have to do it after setting out, given that they are off to get an early start. As if I didn't have enough to worry about in Canterlot. Celestia ponders to themself irritably, taking off into the early morning air and drifting towards the barracks. The sooner they could leave the better; they would have left last night, but if there were dark circles under their eyes it may have diminished the intimidating presence the alicorn could impose.

"Everypony, at attention! The Princess is with us!" Captain Silent Serpent instructs in their typical soft yet commanding tone, as Celestia floats down into the courtyard. Perhaps a dozen ponies are present, though as Celestia scans the crowd they quickly realize the entourage is not entirely what they had expected. Raising a brow, Celestia appraises the captain.

"What is this? Where are Morning Vigil and Diamond Lance?" There were more missing than just that, but listing them all would have seemed pointless; all told, about half of the guardsponies present were swapped from what they'd expected.

"We were not able to locate several guard members on such short notice, they seem to be on long patrol. As for the others, it seems that a sickness has swept through the barracks, and they were not fit for duty." Silent Serpent reports, impassively.

Celestia frowns. Canterlot was already going to be deprived of several of its best soldiers to accompany them, now this? Still, a full escort was necessary; Where they are headed, they would want to display as much royal authority as possible. So, reluctantly, Celestia nods. "Very well. Bring me the up to date guard schedules, I'll want to review them while we fly. I presume the chariots are ready?"

Silent Serpent nods. "Of course, your majesty. I shall return with them momentarily. The chariots are out in the landing zone." The batwinged pony wheels around and marches off.

Celestia does a quick recap of those who are present. Silent Serpent had seemingly arranged for other guardsponies to fill in for the entourage, bringing the total back up to twelve. Most are pegasi, to pull the chariots, but as there are two chariots to fill, a handful of unicorns and earth ponies are present as well.

After the sun has been raised and Silent Serpent has returned with the requested documentation, the entourage sets off just past sunrise. Mooncrescent and Starblaze sit opposite from Celestia, obviously struggling to maintain their formal dispositions from their excitement to actually get to perform their duty of accompanying Celestia in the field for once, even if the princess seems rather preoccupied checking over documentation regarding personnel records and patrol schedules.

"Excuse me, Princess?" Starblaze asks, raising a hoof to keep the wind out of his face.

Celestia looks up to the unicorn, barely noting his presence. "Mhm?"

"Forgive my intrusion, but may I ask... Why are we heading to the outskirts? The captain didn't say, he just got us out of bed early this morning and told us we were needed to fill in for your entourage." Starblaze asks, cautiously, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds.

The kind of question Father would want us asking... Mooncrescent makes a face at the thought, looking off the side of the carriage. Flying is a rare pleasure, though he too would like to know why they were traveling on such short notice.

Celestia sighs in apparent irritation, though it is not directed at the brothers. "House Ivy in the eastern forest is causing trouble. Apparently, they've claimed that they received no word of the new tax codes, and multiple royal messengers have gone missing in the vicinity. Not to mention, all manner of interference and insubordination in regards to my latest royal decrees. They've clearly gotten overconfident in my absence, so I felt that a surprise visit in the flesh was necessary to set them straight. Or, if absolutely necessary... Replace them." Celestia's voice is level, but there is a dark undercurrent that betrays their inner feelings. Such a move would invite considerable political fallout, and would not be taken lightly.

"Does that mean there's a chance there'll be fighting?" Mooncrescent asks, his tone altogether far too chipper for that question. Celestia frowns pointedly at the unicorn colt; They trusted in his good nature and doubly in his talent in combat, but that sense of bloodlust he displayed was more than a little concerning.

"You should not be so eager. All of the ponies in Equestria are precious to me, and the thought of battle between them is a somber one indeed. Your purpose here is simply a show of force. See if you can't enjoy the trip and put this from your mind." Celestia's tone takes on a slight degree of mirth with the last part, before regaining its seriousness. "Just be ready for anything. I hope it will not come to that, but the possibility is always there."

The carriage ride descends into silence, while Celestia returns to focusing on the documentation before them. Something just doesn't add up. When did Ruby Hooves get assigned to patrol? I distinctly recall them being on guard duty. Celestia's brow furrows, as they flip through more and more pages. The differences are subtle; An extended leave there, a different route here. but Celestia had spent long hours planning out Canterlots defenses, and the further they read the more certain they are; somepony had tampered with the schedules. But how? and more importantly, for what purpose?

Celestia closes their eyes, envisioning a mental map of Canterlot. Considering where the guards schedules would bring them, what parts of the palace are guarded when. Did the altered schedules leave the treasury unguarded? No, none of the guards there had been moved. So what could...

Celestia's eyes snap open again in sudden alarm as they stand bolt upright, every muscle tense. "Turn the carriage around! Now!" The princess barks out in the royal canterlot voice. "And pray that we're not too late!"

Earlier that morning, at Canterlot Palace...

Rainbow Dash groans and sits up in bed. She'd thought that, given the lack of the normal morning tutoring lessons that Celestia usually gave her, she'd get a chance to sleep in a bit. Her schedule didn't give them morning classes, since the morning was usually given over to tutoring, and so she had several hours before classes.

Yet despite that fact, the steady rapping of a hoof knocking at her door does not dissipate. Scowling, Rainbow Dash stalks over to the door and throws it open, to be met with a bright-eyed and energetic looking Twilight, Spike in tow. "Whaddya want?" Rainbow Dash slurs out groggily.

"Last night, you mentioned that you haven't been around Canterlot. Correct?" Twilight starts, in a cadence and tone that makes it clear she had rehearsed this speech. Rainbow Dash just stares at her, waiting for her to get on with it, and the unicorn filly eventually clears her throat awkwardly. "Well, um, that seemed like a real shame. And since the Princess is out now, there's time to explore! So, I made a list of things you had to see in the city while you are here." Twilight explains, unfurling a scroll which goes down to the ground, and then some.

Rainbow Dash heavily considers slamming the door in her classmates face and going straight back to bed, but reluctantly sighs. Now that she was up already, it isn't like she was going to be getting back to sleep- not with dawn's light just starting to stream in through the window.

So, reluctantly, Rainbow Dash just sighs. "I thought you'd be studying." She states, dryly. That was the one thing this filly seemed to do whenever she could, after all.

"And I would dearly like to be!" Twilight proclaims. "You should be grateful I'm willing to take a break." She self consciously rubs the back of her neck, glancing backwards.

Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes. There was something else going on here, for sure; this was entirely uncharacteristic of the bookworm before her. As if taking a break from studying wasn't weird enough, she was actively making an effort to spend time with her. That almost never happened. "Are you feeling alright?" Rainbow Dash asks, cocking her head to the side. "If you have a fever, I'm sure Celestia wouldn't mind if you took a day off..."

Twilight stares blankly at Rainbow Dash for a moment before slumping and groaning. "Ugh, why does this have to be so hard... Dealing with other ponies is such a pain..." Rainbow Dash just crosses her hooves in response. Twilight was not exactly doing a great job selling her on this plan, so far. After a moment, Twilight adopts a more serious posture and looks Rainbow Dash in the eye.

"Alright, look, here's the deal. My brother's been insisting I spend more time with other ponies." Twilight eventually admits. "And he also mentioned having met you. And just..." Twilight sighs. "Look, you haven't gotten to see any of Canterlot, and both Celestia and Shining have been on my case to spend more time with other ponies. It'd be two birds with one stone. What do you say? Then once we're done I can go back to studying, and you can go back to doing... Whatever it is you do."

Well, you're not doing much to sell me on the matter. But, I guess I do owe you for helping me out last night. Rainbow Dash shrugs. "Alright, I guess I owe it to ya for your help with the letters." A twinge of curiosity settles into her brain, and she cocks her head to the side. "Are you going to bring Spike along?"

Twilight looks modestly surprised at the question, but nods her head. "Well, I don't see why not. The little fella could stand to get some fresh air and see the sights, too, I think." Rainbow Dash nods, feeling satisfied despite herself. She didn't quite understand her interest in the dragon, which seemed to go past the 'coolness' factor of having a dragon around, but she felt happy to know they were going to be along for the ride.

"Alright, well, let me get ready, then." Rainbow Dash responds. "I'll meet you back out here in fifteen."

Twilight nods. "Sounds like a plan!" She announces, levitating a scroll out of her bag and scribbling something down in it. Rainbow Dash watches with a sinking feeling, remembering how punctual this pony was; She would really have to make sure those fifteen minutes were exactly fifteen, wouldn't she? Well, best get started. Rainbow Dash thinks, turning her back to Twilight. She had some washing to do and saddlebags to grab.

True to her word, Rainbow Dash is standing out on the landing outside her quarters right on time. Well, actually she had gotten out there two minutes ago; She couldn't let it be said that she was slow, after all, and being right on time was too close to being slow. Right on cue, the exact second the clock hit 6:30, Twilight's door opens.

Rainbow Dash stares at her nonplussed. Was she just waiting behind the door to come out at the exact right time? She ponders. ...Why not just come out when you were ready? Still, that thought gets promptly buried, as Twilight is closely followed by Spike right behind, walking on all fours like a pony despite their proportions not being particularly well suited for it. At least the dragon was less likely to fall over this way; they were still getting the hang of walking, seemingly.

"R...Ray-nbuw!" Spike squeals out upon seeing the pegasus. Rainbow Dash chuckles and runs a hoof down over the scales on the dragons head.

"Heya, squirt. Ready for a day on the town?" Rainbow Dash asks, and the dragon nods their head. Seemingly, although still struggling to put words together, they could understand the two fillies remarkably well. Rainbow Dash glances back up at Twilight. "Smart little guy, aren't they?"

Twilight beams at the mention. "I know, right?" The filly gushes, as the three of them begin their way down the tower. "You can really tell they understand more than they're able to say. They even try to help tidy up the place, sometimes." She gives a pleasant, doting smile as she glances back at Spike scampering after them, seeming to get more confident on his claws as he goes. "Though, I think they usually cause more of a mess than they clean in the process." The unicorn remarks with a giggle.

Rainbow Dash nods in response, though something else had taken her attention as she looks around, frowning. "Isn't it awfully quiet around here? Where are all the guards?"

Twilight shrugs. "I guess the Princess must have taken alot of them wherever they went. Does make the place feel kinda lonely though, doesn't it?"

Rainbow Dash nods in response, feeling self-conscious about the echoing sound of hoofsteps on the palace tile. She'd gotten used to how the environment differed from Cloudsdale, but the empty halls of the palace made it feel more grand, somehow, bringing her awareness back to its splendor as her eyes leave the ground and search the towering arches as she and Twilight make their way towards the palace gates. To some degree of relief, Rainbow Dash hears the chatter of voices outside, somewhat alleviating the feeling of loneliness.

The two of them take a side passage out of the palace hoping to avoid crowds, given how camera shy Twilight is; Although, Rainbow Dash privately thinks that a bit of press attention would hardly be the worst thing in the world. "So, where are we off to, major egghead?" Rainbow Dash asks. "I assume some dusty old museum or boring historical site?" Rainbow Dash's voice is tinged with dread at the mention.

"Although that does sound positively delightful, there's a place much closer to the palace I'd like to visit first." Twilight states, prompting Rainbow Dash to raise a brow curiously. "If you've never been to Donut Joe's then I gotta tell you, you're in for a treat."

Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise. That... Was not what she had expected to hear. But the thought of donuts good enough to get even this bookworm out of the palace was enough incentive for her, as she races after Twilight, the pace picking up. "I assume you brought the bits?" She asks, hesitantly. She did have some herself; Celestia had given her an allowance, which she had not yet had time to make use of. But she hadn't expected to be going to a restaurant, either.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course." Twilight levitated a stack of bits out of her saddlebag. "I never leave home without them."

Rainbow Dash gawks at the amount she was carrying; that was as much as her own life savings, she is pretty sure, possibly considerably more. Looking around hurriedly, she hisses to Twilight "Put that away! What if somepony sees how much your carrying and decides to rob us?"

Twilight just blinks at her, innocently. "You really think somepony would do that? Just rob us in broad daylight?" She asks, almost shocked. Rainbow Dash just stares at her incredulously.

"I mean bullies back home used to jump me and Fluttershy as soon as we got out of class. I'm sure that actual criminals aren't less daring than that." Rainbow Dash retorts, and now it was Twilight's turn to stare at the pegasus incredulously. Just what kind of environment had she grown up in?

That was neither here nor there, though, as the duo had finished the walk to the donut shop. It really was shockingly close to the palace, considering. They must be really successful to be able to afford rent around here... Twilight ponders internally. Swinging open the door with her magic, the bell inside chimes.

"It feels awfully empty in here too, doesn't it?" Twilight whispers in a hushed tone to Rainbow Dash as the two fillies strut up towards the counter. Rainbow Dash raises a brow looking at her.

"Does it? Its probably just not a busy day." Rainbow Dash replies.

Twilight frowns. "It would normally be full of off-duty guards, though. It's a great place for them to get snacks between shifts since the wait isn't as long as the restaurants you can normally find around here. Just how many did Celestia take with them to the border?"

Rainbow Dash just shrugs, glancing backwards. The path the duo had taken was a less traveled one, so it isn't surprising that they'd only run into a few ponies. The plaza outside is mostly empty save for a single Royal Guard standing underneath a terrace, standing watch with spear and shield in hand, and a hooffull of other ponies; some tourists, one pony whom Rainbow Dash can't get a good look at underneath their cloak, and a couple aristocrats galloping through on their way to some meeting or another. Kind of overdressed for the weather, aren't they?

"Rainbow Dash! Equestria to Rainbow Dash!" Twilight was saying, and Rainbow Dash turns back around, startled, realizing she had spaced out. Twilight sighs. "Finally. C'mon, what kind of donuts do you want? Joe is waiting on ya."

Rainbow Dash blinks. "O-oh, uh, maple bars sounds good." She reports, unceremoniously. She can't help it, something is bugging her today.

Distracted as she is, the rest of the short visit to the donut shop passes without leaving much of a mark on Rainbow Dash, as the filly is lost in her thoughts. Still, though she is not focusing deeply on it, the alert mind of an active flyer is never still, and as she follows Twilight out into the plaza with treats in hoof, snippets of conversation around her find their way into her consciousness.

"...So I told him he was being ridiculous..."
"...I don't care what the new going interest rate is, our deal was already settled!"
"...Target acquired. Requesting permission to engage, over."

Rainbow Dash blinks. Wait, what? Faster than her conscious mind even catches up with her perception, the training she'd gotten so far rushes to the forefront of her mind, and the filly dives to the ground, just in time for the blade hurtling through the air to whoosh through her mane, chopping a lock of prismatic hair to the ground instead of killing her outright.

The filly wants to freeze up in shock, but a commanding voice inside her mind takes over. Don't move too suddenly, dodge unpredictably! Springing from the crouched position into a full jump, Rainbow Dash jolts into the air as the unknown assailant lunges through the space she was a moment ago. A scream pierces the air as the ponies around notice what is happening. For a moment, Rainbow Dash considers simply flying up and away, but a glance at Twilight's terrified face quickly silences that thought. Dorky nerd or not, she was not about to leave Celestia's other student in the hooves of... Whoever their assailants were.

For just a brief moment, Rainbow Dash has an opportunity to catch her breathe and let her conscious mind catch up with what her subconscious had already reacted to. The pony in the cloak, long lightly curved dagger held tightly in the space behind their teeth, was charging towards her. In that moment, she gets a brief look at her assailant; Underneath the plain but finely made cloak, she is clearly an earth pony, with a scar over one eye and strangely impassive expression for somepony currently attempting murder.

Rainbow Dash tumbles over in midair before landing on her hooves in some kind of delayed, wing-assisted frontal summersalt. Feinting to the left, she immediately jolts to the right, watching the attacker stab into where she had projected going. Despite the terror she should be feeling, the emotion hasn't seemed to catch up with Rainbow dash yet, instead leaving her with a cocky sense of satisfaction at applying her training. Only after whirling around to face the cloaked pony, does she feel the warm wetness on her flank, and realize that she had not been totally successful in her evasive maneuvers.

That'll smart later... Assuming she got out of this alive, that was. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, she can't feel the pain, nor the deep fear that really should have been at the forefront of her mind. Meanwhile, the world around her is catching up as well, as the guard manages to recover from his shock and lever his spear at the assailant. "Step away from the filly, now! This is your only warning!" He stamps his hoof on the ground as if preparing to charge.

The earth pony assailant spits on the ground, flicking a dismissive glance over towards the guard as a dark figure materializes from the shadows behind him. Rainbow Dash's eyes widen in alarm. "Look out!"

The warning comes to late, and to the fillies visceral sense of horror, a keen silvery blade matching the other attackers' erupts from the guards throat as his eyes bulge from his skull in shock, and another pair of cloaked ponies emerge from the alleys behind him, knives in hoof with more besides strapped to belts going around their barrels. The distraction to Rainbow Dash leaves her vulnerable, and the first assailant jerks with her neck, the long knife hurtling towards Rainbow Dash's throat.

Rainbow Dash tenses up in fear and anticipation of swiftly approaching death, before a brick held in a purple aura slams into the attackers head from the side before the attack can be carried home. The scar-eyed pony staggers in place, not letting out a sound but still clearly dazed as blood drips from a rupture formed from the impact. In surprise, Rainbow Dash turns her head to see Twilight, standing up on trembling legs with her horn lit up.

"Stay away from her!" Twilight screams out hoarsely, eyes wide and voice trembling. Rainbow Dash doesn't have time to process the emotions coursing through her... In that moment, all she knows is she needs to get her and her friends out of there. Whirling around, she plants a kick on the assailants face before she can fully recover from the telekinetically thrown brick, and without looking if it worked, bolts for Twilight and Spike before the other cloaked ponies can get any closer.

Throwing both legs around the other fillies barrel and crushing Spike between the two of them to keep them safely in place as the baby dragon begins filling the air with an earsplitting wail, Rainbow Dash surges across the ground, flapping her wings as hard as she can trying to take off while Twilight's hooves race to keep up with the half-aloft pegasi's movements until she manages to leave the ground.

"Woah!" Is all Rainbow Dash manages to say as she swoops up into the air in a half-loop before snapping back as quickly as she can at the sight of yet another attacker, a pegasus swooping down right after her. She does not quite move fast enough to completely avoid injury- the very tip of her ear is clipped by the attackers wing-blade, slicing it clean off with a thin trail of blood. But far worse than that is in store for her as she watches the other wing of the pony arcing up and around, aiming straight down the length of her torso.

In desperation, Rainbow Dash folds her wings shut and drops like a rock, hurtling to the ground as quickly as she can, colliding with the stone as she does her best to cushion Twilight and Spike from the impact. A burst of pain surges through her, even the haze of adrenaline unable to blot out the visceral crack of her ribs snapping against stone.

I can't... breathe! Rainbow Dash's mind races, as she struggles and fails to stand, agony surging through her as she tries to lift her head to see what's going on. Desperation begins pouring through her; While she could still act to try and save herself, that fear had been suppressed. But now, her body no longer able to keep up with her, the panic rises within her. C-Celestia, I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!

Rainbow Dash frantically claws at the stones, trying to pull herself up to her hooves. But just as she has almost managed it, getting her wobbling front legs under her, another assailant reaches her, and with one simple blow knocks her over onto the ground and onto her back. Her vision goes blurry as the back of her head hits the stone, unable to breathe with a hoof pressing down against her throat.

Rainbow Dash lets out a thin whimper, the only sound that could make it through her crushed windpipe, tears leaking from the edges of her eyes. Despite the circumstance, she can't help but think an utterly ridiculous thought; Is this really how you want to die? Crying like a foal? She would have laughed at the surreality of it, if she could breathe. But instead, all she can do is barely make out the gleaming edge of a blade, lifted skywards in preparation to end her far-too-short life.

Fury of the Sun

Light fills Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Her first thought, an oddly tranquil, even calming thought, is that it must be the light a pony supposedly sees when they die. But that thought is dashed aside in only a moment. One would expect a light like that to be serene, calming, calling you to a peaceful afterlife.

This light is no such thing. It rages, with an incandescent force hotter than an erupting volcano. It burns with an intensity which tells Rainbow Dash that she is, indeed, alive. Its magic bleeds into the air, filling all of Rainbow Dash's senses with its nature; An oddly familiar sense of gentle affection, buried underneath a mountain of crimson rage. All Rainbow Dash can do is cower in place, the agony of her cracked ribs all but forgotten, taking in the sight as her eyes steadily strain to make out the scene before her.

What had moments ago been a cloaked pony bearing down on her, knife in hoof, is now... Nothing, not even a wet spot on the ground. In fact, even the ground they had been standing on was missing, replaced by a smoldering crater still glowing a dull red from the heat of impact. And within that crater...

Rainbow Dash's heart catches in her throat as her eyes are drawn hypnotically to the source of the blinding light, unable to shut them despite how it stings, like staring into the sun. Standing there is a... Thing, which could only be described as equine in the vaguest of terms. White coat blazing with heavenly fire, mane and tail glowing a bright amber like the fiercest of flames, and wings of pure light spread wide. Indeed, it resembles less a pony, and more a living star in the vague shape of a pony, the magic within unable to be constrained within the boundaries of its form. As though its body was merely a vessel, a container, for a being far more than mere flesh residing within.

Even to a pegasus largely unschooled in the ways of magic, its easy to feel the weight of the entities spirit sweeping through her. It feels like light itself, like the sun in a desert sky, like pain and sorrow and anger and fear all congealed into one, great and terrible in equal measure. She feels it with her whole being, in every fiber and cell of her body, enveloping her very soul, holding the whole of her consciousness captive, inspiring equal parts dread and reverence. Yet for all the force she feels the presence, she finds to her immense relief that the entities attention is not on her, but rather, on the assassins remaining within the plaza.

The first attacker, in a desperate last ditch attempt at assaulting Rainbow dash before the entire team of assassins can be dispatched, leaps with her full body towards Rainbow Dash, knife outstretched, face every bit as dispassionate as when the encounter had begun. Moving with preternatural speed, the wings of the entity above Rainbow Dash swing down in a great arc, and like a white-hot blade slicing through butter, the attacker is bisected entirely right down the middle, a flare of solar magic splitting the sky, smiting the ashen remains of their body into the ground with an earth-shattering sound like thunder, or the rumble of cannonfire.

Rainbow Dash's jaw hangs open in a cavalcade of wonder, awe, terror, and shock. Is that... Celestia? It is almost impossible to recognize them as they are now, but the white coat, broad feathered wings, and long spiraling horn that adorns the living embodiment of the suns fury before her makes it clear.

Each of the other pony attackers have different reactions; The one nearest the alley bolts for it, while another bites down on something, falling down to the ground almost instantly. The former does not make it far; A searing ray of golden solar flame sweeps across the plaza, cutting a deep rift in the cobblestone and up the side of the wall with altogether unnecessary force, scourging the cloth and flesh of the unfortunate pony from the bone.

That left only one remaining, the pegasus who had attempted to cut Rainbow dash down the middle. It seems that, with the ability to fly, it had taken him a fraction of a second to decide whether to chomp down on his pill, or attempt an escape. That fraction of a second was too long; As he tries to bite down on the pill to end his life, Celestia's gaze falls upon him, the alicorn's horn lighting up with a deep amber light. Even as his jaw struggles to close, the overwhelming telekinetic might of an alicorn's raw magic envelops it and yanks it open, far wider than it was ever meant to, snapping the jawbone like a twig. A moan of agony erupts from the pegasus, as the telekinetic aura envelops their entire frame, dragging them to the ground and pinning them in place as blood drips from his mouth.

"YOU COME TO MY HOME AND ATTACK MY PRIZED PUPILS, BLAMELESS AND INNOCENT FILLIES BOTH, AND EXPECT TO ESCAPE THAT EASILY? YOU MAY DIE WHEN I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO DIE."

The words resound with a force far more than physical, sweeping through the rock and thundering through the trees with enough strength to blow a subtle shockwave across the environs. Every syllable steeped in divine might, the very fabric of reality shuddering as the alicorns innate magic echoes within their words, something even Rainbow Dash can feel with the magical sensitivity innate to all ponykind. And yet, for all the power and force within it, the voice is still undeniably that of Celestia, elegant and regal even in this moment of twisted fury.

Beside Rainbow Dash, Twilight falls down to her haunches, eyes wide, tears beginning to fill the fillies eyes. Even Rainbow Dash, for all her bravado, cannot help but cower beneath the overwhelming strength on display, whimpering from both pain and fear with both her forehooves reaching up to cover her face.

The sound of the filly's terror reaches Celestia through the haze of retributive bloodlust, and as the vibrant form of the alicorn turns their head back to their two students, badly bruised and beaten both by their ordeal, Celestia's rationality begins to return. The anger that fills the surrounding air begins to subside, giving way to sorrow and remorse, as the light shining unbound from within the alicorn princess retreats back inside the flesh that serves as its vessel. Their mane glows like cinders dwindling, as it fades slowly back to the soft pastel colors of the rainbow, until at last the sight before the two fillies returns to the Celestia they knew as their teacher, and the alicorn lays down on their stomach.

"I am sorry you had to see me like that, my dear students." There is a certain sorrowful huskiness in Celestia's voice that even the well-practice political poker face they had learned over the centuries cannot restrain. "But do not fear, no harm will come to you. I promise. Just close your eyes."

Despite Celestia's request, Rainbow Dash can't help but keep her eyes wide open, the scene before her engraving into her memories where it would surely never leave her. The corpse of a tourist lies on the ground with a slit throat, not far from the dead guardspony, while another much younger filly wails over the corpse, begging it to wake. Deep scorch marks run through the cobblestone, and the remains of would-be assassins are scorched unrecognizably into the very stones where they had been standing, while the sole survivor of the assassination attempt struggles against the telekinetic bonds pinning them to the cobblestone. And Celestia, laying there low before her, almost unimaginably gentle seeming for a being which had mere moments ago been practically exploding with uncontained strength.

Rainbow Dash tries to speak, but all that comes out is a gasp of pain through her shattered ribs, and she rolls over onto her side, squeezing her eyes shut as tears begin leaking from them. Even then, she can't block out the truth of her surroundings, the residual heat still in the air, the ashen smell of charred death soaking into her fur.

The clatter of hooves on cobble announces the arrival of Celestia's entourage, panting heavily as they catch back up with the solar monarch, surveying the scene with equal parts fascination and horror. "I am sorry, my little ponies, but I am afraid I must attend to my troops and catch those responsible for this travesty." Celestia states, sadly. "I shall be with you soon." Rising up to their hooves, Celestia turns to address the guards.

"Mooncrescent, Starblaze, I want you to perform a full sweep around the palace grounds. Pearl Glow, I want General Apple Corps informed of what happened here and the palace guard on high alert. Lion's Pride, take this prisoner to a cell and make sure he isn't able to kill himself. Everypony else, get every guardspony—on duty, off duty, in training, I don't care—in Canterlot out here, I want the entire palace district on lockdown, stat. And bring me cadets Glyndwr and Shining Armor!" Celestia rattles off the series of orders swiftly, the disciplined guards behind them saluting and scurrying off to fulfill each one in turn.

At the same time, one final guardspony rushes into the plaza, together with a hooffull of carriages drawn by pegasi. Saluting, the guardspony turns to Celestia. "As ordered, I brought a medevac! I..." The guardspony's gaze drifts around the plaza, taking in the scene of carnage before him. "..What happened here?"

Celestia takes a deep breathe, clenching their jaw. "A tragedy, and its appropriate retribution." Celestia's regal form takes on a subtle, almost predatory aggression with that statement, before sighing. "Bring the injured to the palace infirmary, stat." Celestia instructs the medical team. The guardspony and tourist lying on the ground appear dead, but Celestia would not give up hope until a medical team looked them over.

What now, then? Celestia ponders, gaze drifting up to the sky as their subjects around them rush to fulfill their orders. The guard could likely use the princesses aid in ensuring a complete lock-down of the palace district; Celestia's centuries of military expertise would, of course, come in handy.

But in Celestia's heart of hearts, they know where they belong. Flapping their wings and drifting off the ground, Celestia watches the first responders loading the injured into carriages where they can perform first aid while the skilled pegasi fliers pull them skywards. Flying ahead, Celestia makes their way to the palace.

When their students arrive, Celestia would be there. Ready to apologize, for having put them in the line of fire, for not discerning the threat sooner. And for letting them see, the true nature of an Alicorn.

Author's Note

Heyo! Been looking forward to this chapter for a nice long time.

If anypony could be bothered, I would deeply appreciate if you could check out my other story, Birthright. Its tonally similar to this one although with perhaps a somewhat faster paced, slightly darker plot. I’ve been working really hard on it and honestly I think its my best writing, but I’ve been struggling immensely to get an audience... if anypony could check it out, I would deeply appreciate it!

Apologies

The rush to the hospital and checkups by the doctors all pass in a nauseating blur for Twilight. First she was carted away into the sky, then all manner of doctors and nurses wanted to take a look at her, all before she'd even stopped hyperventilating. Before long, she is allowed up, though she is not discharged from the infirmary, simply allowed on her hooves.

That’s a relief for her, because she has far too much anxious energy to be constrained to one spot, as she frantically walks in circles around the chamber, desperately wishing that she could wash the vivid imagery of living bodies being reduced to charred remains, the screams of terror and anguish, from her mind.

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she places both hooves on her head, as if she could block out the sounds. Enough so that the familiar voice of a very worried pony barely left any mark on her consciousness.

"Twilight! Oh dear Celestia, are you ok?" Twilight blinked her eyes open. She recognized that voice, wasn't it...

Any further thought was disrupted by suddenly being wrapped up in two very strong, very protective white forelimbs. Craning her neck up to see the face of her captor revealed the very worried face of Shining Armor. "Sh-Shiny?" She mumbles out in shock.

Shining Armor just nods his head and closes his eyes, squeezing Twilight as if he thought she would dissipate into the air if he let go. "I came as fast as I could once I heard what happened. Are you ok? You're not hurt, are you? The doctors let you get up, right?" His voice sounds almost as anxious as her own.

"I-I'm okay." Twilight's voice sounded meek and scared, even to herself. "I didn't get hurt too badly." The same could not be said for the others in the plaza... Shutting her eyes tightly, the scene replays in her head again, the horrible cracking sound of Rainbow Dash hitting the stone below her, the sudden loss of air as the guards throat was slit... The horrible, infernal heat as Celestia had made their entrance. Despite herself, she couldn't help but shudder, and instinctively bury her face down into her brothers white fur, hyperventilation mixing with ragged sobs.

"Thank goodness..." Shining Armor breathes out, gently stroking her mane. Slowly, ever so slowly, Twilight's shaking subsides, though she does not stop clinging to her brother any.

"H-how are the other ponies?" Twilight sniffles out, pulling her head back just the bare minimum amount needed to see Shining Armor's face. "I-Is Rainbow Dash okay?"

Shining Armor frowns, wishing he could console her but not being able to. "I don't know. As soon as I got word of what happened I came straight here. But I'm sur-"

Before Shining Armor can finish that statement the door bursts open again and another pair of familiar faces rush into the room at a full gallop. Twilight Velvet and Night Light both take up their positions close by Shining Armor's side, throwing their forelimbs around Twilight as well.

"You're okay! Thank Celestia you're okay! I swear, if I ever learn who was responsible for this..." Night Light bristles with rage at the suggestion.

'Thank Celestia'. Twilight can't help but ponder on that thought. Thank the Princess, indeed, for saving her. And yet, whatever gratitude she might feel, she couldn't help but feel it laced with fear. Never before had she borne witness to such unrelenting ferocity... And if she had her way, she prayed she never would again.

"My darling! What kind of monster could want to hurt my baby?" Twilight Velvet was wailing, smothering the younger Twilight in an embrace so tight it was difficult to breathe.

Even Spike got in on the action, standing up on wobbling legs and adding his own wailing to the mix, stubby arms struggling to curl around the blob of ponies.

Eventually, everypony had gotten enough, and slowly untangled from the mass of limbs and body heat, leaving Twilight sitting there in the middle of the family, Spike still draped across one of her hind legs refusing to let go.

"Did you catch a look at whoever your attackers were? Did they say anything?" Night Light was questioning her, but before she could respond, he was lightly slapped in the foreleg by his wife.

"Nighty! Don't ask the poor thing something like that, can't you see she's still terrified? I'm sure she'll have to endure enough questioning from the guards." Twilight Velvet turns back to her daughter apologetically. "Don't you worry about things like that right now, sweetie. Right now, we're just happy that you're safe."

"Shining Armor! The Princess would have a word with you." A voice from the doorway calls, a royal guard standing upright and at attention, not a hint of emotion showing.

Shining Armor sighs and reluctantly steps back. "Well, you hear him, sis. Duty calls. I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?" He promises, earning a nod of acknowledgement from Twilight. Uncertainly, Shining Armor turns to leave, following the guardspony who had called for him.

"They're just down here. A word of warning, they are rather exhausted. Do try not to show too much surprise, they don't need any more stress." Despite the words suggestion of sympathy, the guardsponies voice remains perfectly flat and dispassionate. Shining Armor just nods in response, too caught up in his own thoughts to bother with conversation.

True to the guardsponies word, Celestia is waiting there, in a quiet alcove, one of the rooms normally used for patients. The beds are presently empty, and Celestia is staring out the window listlessly, awaiting Shining Armor's arrival. Awkwardly, the cadet clears his throat to get their attention, while the guardspony behind him salutes and returns to whatever his other duties are.

Celestia looks over at the newcomer dismally, forcing a smile. "Shining Armor. I'm glad you could make it." The princess states, rising from their position and walking over to shut the door behind him.

Shining Armor bows his head steeply. "Of course, your majesty. How may I serve you?" He asks, anxiously. What could be so important that the Princess had pulled him away from Twilight's side? Knowing Celestia, it wasn't likely the princess had done so frivolously.

Celestia nods. "Of course. Right to business." They sigh, their gaze returning outside as they briefly ponder. Based on what the eyewitnesses had reported, it seemed as though the assassins were at the least primarily targeting Rainbow Dash, or more likely exclusively targeting the filly. As much as they hate to admit it, that would make House Twilight one of the more plausible culprits; if nothing else, they had the clearest possible motive, as Rainbow Dash's death would leave Twilight as Celestia's sole student, elevating their prestige.

But that is still all speculation, and they can't be certain that Twilight is not also a target. If nothing else, House Twilight could be trusted to protect her. "Allow me to be straightforward. There is evidence that this incident was plotted by somepony within the royal guard. This ties my hooves, as much as I would like to, I cannot expect to always be present with my students. If somepony is wishing harm upon them, then I need to ensure they are well protected. I need somepony I can trust to watch after them." Celestia begins, delicately, crossing over to stand before Shining Armor as they did. "You are Twilight's older brother. I presume you have her best interests at heart. Therefore, I feel you are the only pony in my employ I can be certain would do their utmost to protect her. In addition, your talents with protective magic have time and time again proven exemplary. Therefore, I would like to appoint you as Twilight Sparkle's personal bodyguard."

Shining Armor blinks in surprise. "H-huh? But I'm still a cadet, how would I..." He trails off.

Celestia nods. "I am aware. Fortunately, Twilight is well ahead on her studies, and I feel that learning to protect herself is more than warranted given recent events. Thus, Twilight shall accompany you to your classes. Whenever neither you nor I can be present, I will do my best to pick out a host of guards to protect her. With potential threats inside the palace, I'm afraid we cannot leave Twilight unprotected at any hour of the day." Celestia sighs, rubbing their face.

Shining Armor hesitates briefly, before nodding. Not only was this his duty as a Royal Guard, but as an older brother. Puffing out his chest and saluting, Shining Armor nods to the princess. "As you command, your majesty. It would be my honor."

By the time the Princess comes to see Twilight, her parents had departed, leaving the filly to her own devices. She was not quite ready to be discharged yet; apparently the medical techs were waiting for scans to come back to make sure it was safe. Twilight suspects there is more to it than that, but that's all she was told, at least.

So it is that when Celestia appears through the doorway, Twilight is an anxious mess pacing around the room. Immediately upon seeing the princess, Twilight perks up and charges over to her, bowing her head deeply. "P-princess!" As the filly looks back up, Celestia can't help but notice the purple unicorn cringing backwards in remembered fear. For just a moment, Twilight does not see the benevolent, kind princess she knew above her; she sees the terrifying force of infernal strength, blazing like the surface of the sun, as living bodies were reduced to ash.

And then, she blinks, and the visage is broken. In its place... Is a pony. A pony who doesn't look like she remembers Celestia ever looking before; the wave of their mane is subdued, dark circles underneath their eyes. It had only been a few hours since the incident; how could the princess be this tired already?

The princess smiles softly at Twilight as she looks to them, but the look in their eyes is haunting, and Twilight can't help but shiver under the gaze. "How are you feeling, my young pupil?" Celestia asks, laying down on their haunches to bring themself to eye level with the filly.

"I-I'm okay. Rainbow Dash protected me." Twiliight starts, before looking back up at Celestia with some alarm. "Wh-where is she? Is she okay? The doctors didn't seem to know."

Celestia nods sadly. "She'll be alright. I was just with her, but she isn't ready for visitors just yet. She had broken some ribs and a wing, and needed surgery. I lent my magic to her to help her recover, but even so she needs rest. Right now, she is asleep; the enchantment I cast upon her should last at least until tomorrow morning. Perhaps then you could see her, if you so wish."

Twilight breathes out a sigh of relief. A broken wing was a big deal of course, and surgery was too, but it sounded like Celestia had done everything to make sure she'd have a full recovery. That would explain where Celestia had been this entire time, too. "Do... Do you know why they..." Twilight starts, before her voice breaks, thinking back to the traumatic events of earlier that day. Somepony had tried to kill them. She still can't seem to wrap her head around that concept.

"I was on my way to the outskirts to attend to a dispute with one of the noble houses, when I noticed a discrepancy in the schedule of the guard, leaving a conspicuous blind spot around an entrance of the palace and a route straight to our tower." Celestia starts explaining, each word careful and measured. "As soon as I discovered it, I doubled back as quickly as I could fly. I was nearly too late, but I saw you and Rainbow Dash being assaulted by those... Ruffians."

Twilight nods slowly. She remembers quite well the events after that. The way the light seemed to leak out of Celestia, the strength of their presence bleeding into the air, flaring like a star. How could that be the same as the flesh and blood pony before them? Try as she might, she could not perceive any hint of that divine light from Celestia's frame, although the Alicorn before her still radiates a quiet sense of majesty.

Celestia's knowing gaze seems to follow Twilights thoughts, a distant look on their face. "The light you saw was me. When I saw those fiends attacking my students, I'm afraid I lost control. I let the mask slip. What you saw was... My true nature, underneath this skin and bone."

"Does that mean... Is that body just a puppet?" Twilight asks, cautiously. That seemed like the logical conclusion to draw, yet, to even ask it was terrifying. Not only because she was questioning the Princess of the Sun, but because of the implication. Was the creature before her... Even a pony at all?

But to Twilight's immense relief, Celestia simply shakes their head. "No, it is every bit as much a part of me as my magic or my mind. It simply is not the whole of me. The body of an Alicorn is akin to a manifestation of their will and magic. Upon ascension, a ponies original body is reduced to ashes, and only those who can create a new form through will alone will survive the transformation." Celestia stretches their wings out, looking at them as though they were novel to them, despite having received them over a millennia ago. "But deep within this body is the core of my being. Closer to a star than equine-kind. That is what you saw, unleashed."

Celestia gives Twilight a remorseful look, frowning. "...But rest assured, I am still a pony at heart. And by that token... I should apologize. I never should have let this happen. I should have seen the error sooner, I should have been there, I..." Celestia's breath catches in their throat, and they take a deep breathe, rehearsing themself before finishing. "...I'm sorry you ever had to see me like that."

Twilight gapes, trying to understand all that. Then... That horrible burning smell, those living bodies reduced to ashes... That had all been the princess. Somehow, she hadn't been able to truly believe that until just now. Just how many ponies have they killed, over the years? Twilight can't help but wonder, staring into the ageless face of the alicorn before her. The princess had, after all, presided over many wars in the last millenia. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? All burnt to cinders or torn to shreds, by the very same tender-hearted alicorn across from her. Twilight can't help but shiver at the thought.

Celestia nods, seeing the unicorns discomfort, making no attempt to dissuade her. "If you would prefer to talk to somepony else, I would understand." Celestia states delicately. "And I know this must be difficult for you. But I am afraid I am going to need to ask you to try and remember everything you can about the attack. We still haven't identified the conspirators behind it, and could use any advantage we can get."

Twilight bites her lip, uncomfortably, but nods. "No, it's alright. I'll do whatever I can to help." She affirms, trying to process her confused memories and taking a deep breathe. Logically, she has to view the events logically. "I... It all happened so fast. We noticed that the palace was strangely empty while we were leaving... I guess maybe that's what had Rainbow Dash on guard. I didn't get a good look at any of the attackers, they were all wearing cloaks and using knives." Twilight shuts her eyes tightly, wanting to block out the memories but knowing she needs to keep going.

"They went straight for Rainbow Dash... I don't think any of them so much as noticed me until I threw a brick at one of their heads." Twilight opens her eyes again, looking over at Celestia with a haunted stare. "I don't know if Rainbow Dash noticed that, though... Instead of flying off as soon as she could, she grabbed Spike and I before trying to make a getaway. Then... You know the rest." The filly shudders from the memory, as if she could feel the heat and smell of charred flesh that had filled the air.

Celestia steps back, contemplating with a subtle frown. "I see. Thank you, Twilight. I will do my best to ensure those responsible are brought to justice." The princess nods in acknowledgement.

Nervously, Twilight swallows before asking the next question. "Do... Do you know why they were after us? And..." Twilight's hooves tighten around the blankets, the hint of a panic attack coming on. "Did... Anypony else get hurt?"

Celestia views the filly with a sympathetic gaze. As much as they might want to, they would not lie to shelter the filly; Their student deserved to know the truth. "A guardspony was slain, as were all but one of the attackers. A passing tourist was also critically injured in the scuffle, though last I heard they were still alive and receiving the necessary medical attention. Only time will tell if he will pull through, or not." Celestia explains.

Twilight stares downwards, looking sickened, and Celestia lays what they hope is a comforting hoof upon Twilight's shoulder. "Let us be thankful that you are alright, at the least. Things could have been much worse. You should be able to leave the hospital now, your brother will escort you home." Celestia states, softly, rising from their repose. "I should expect you need some time to recover before we discuss these events in more detail. Until then, all that matters is that you are safe and comfortable. I will go and fetch Shining Armor now, so you may return someplace more familiar."

Just as the princess was leaving, Twilight calls out to them. "Wait!" The alicorn turns back, giving an expectant look towards Twilight. "I just..." Twilight bunches up the sheets under her hooves, and breathes out a short breathe. "...Thankyou. For everything."

Celestia watches Twilight for a long moment, impassively, before turning back towards the door. "You have nothing to thank me for. After all, I am the only reason you were in danger to begin with." Without any further ado, the princess steps out into the hall, and Twilight is left alone with her thoughts.

Duties

As much as they’d like to return to Rainbow Dash’s side until their pupil awoke, or even simply rest their weary eyes, Celestia has other tasks to attend to as they set off on a brisk pace down the hall. There are a myriad of other ponies to meet with, and their mind is already contemplating how best to retaliate against this brazen attack.

The first priority, of course, is ensuring Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle’s safety. Only once that is guaranteed, would they see about hunting down the perpetrators. In order to arrange for both of those tasks, the princess had sent for a number of ponies to meet with them; By now, one would hope the requested guardsponies would have gathered in the throne room. But as Celestia turns the corner to see the grand entrance, they are greeted instead with the sight of a familiar cadet dashing down the hall in a rush to reach the meeting in time. Oh, well, Celestia themself was not there yet, so it was no great problem.

Striding past the guards on duty, Celestia enters the audience chamber, where the audience in question has already gathered; Captain Silent Serpent, and the guard cadets Mooncrescent, Starblaze, and Glyndwr, all in variable states of posture; Silent Serpent is relaxed and professional as always, Mooncrescent is relaxed and unprofessional as always, and the other two are both standing stiffly at attention.

Upon Celestia’s entrance, the four immediately bow, as Celestia walks by them to sit upon the throne beyond. Though they’d not have cared to admit it, it is a relief to get off their hooves; they'd already exerted themself more than was ideal. Silent Serpent is the first to break the silence. “Your excellency, you wished to see us?”

Celestia nods in response. "I'm sure all of you understand that this attack is far more than a mere assassination attempt." Those words feel like they are underselling the importance of their students' safety, but from a military or political perspective it is undeniably true. "A multitude of assassins were able to not only infiltrate the palace district fully armed, but go so far as to change guard schedules around within the most heavily fortified complex in Equestria. The magnitude of this breach of security cannot be overstated. We are dealing with a traitor, or possibly many traitors, in our midst, and our response must be methodical, swift, and well reasoned."

Celestia transfixes Silent Serpent in her gaze. Of the four they had called in, he was something of an outlier. The chiropteran stallion was not only one of the only ponies with access to the guard schedules, but also quite capable of deception behind his mask of soft-spoken demeanor and discipline. Worse, he was directly involved in Celestia's journey out east, all things which made him one of the primary suspects for being behind the assassination attempt. But it was for the best if Celestia did not play their cards too early; If he was aware he was under suspicion, he would have a greater chance to cover up any involvement he may or may not have had.

"Captain Silent Serpent, I am assigning you to dealing with House Ivy. Not only are you to bring them in line with current tax codes, but you are to evaluate their possible involvement in this plot post haste. The severity of this assignment has been escalated by current events; you are to take a full battalion of palace guards with you. Should the Ivy's prove resistant to your investigations, you may feel free to exert force directly." The assignment was far more than simply trying to deduce the Ivy's involvement; Celestia was already near certain that they were involved in the plot to some degree, given the uncannily perfect timing of their recent rebelliousness. Rather, the mission was intended to ascertain Silent Serpent's loyalties; if he was part of a conspiracy, then surely he would try to deflect blame from the Ivy's, and most likely avoid harming their position to the best of his abilities. What that all means, is that if Silent Serpent does not return with evidence of the Ivy's involvement, then the most likely cause is that he himself is either incompetent or a co-conspirator himself.

With a mask of perfect calm keeping his feelings as enigmatic as ever, Silent Serpent crosses one hoof over his chest and bows his head. "At once, your majesty. Shall I head out immediately, or was there more you needed from me?"

Celestia shakes their head. "No, that will be all from you. You may set out tomorrow; until that point, you are to assist with the palace district lockdown. I don't want to remove any guards-ponies from the premises until we can be certain no more intruders are present within upper Canterlot, you understand." Silent Serpent nods at the last order, wheels around and confidently struts towards the gates to depart. Celestia's gaze follows him until he has fully left the throne chamber, the doors shutting behind him.

That left the other three ponies-well, two ponies and a gryphon-who were standing by in various degrees of anxiety. All three of them were mere cadets, a far sight from the captain who had just departed. In a display of some confusion, Glyndwr reaches up and scratches the back of her head. "Erm. So, what did you need us for? Did we do something wrong? Shouldn’t you ask for somepony with a bit more training under their belt? E-er, n-no offense to your judgment, of course.” The gryphon hastily adds the last part, apparently suddenly realizing she was talking to the monarch of all Equestria.

The edges of Celestia's mouth twitch upwards in a very slight smile. The three ponies before them were rather lacking in the stoic discipline of more well trained guardsponies, but all three of them had phenomenal track records in combat. And at the moment, that lack of discipline was actually something more of a merit than disadvantage.

"With a traitor someplace in our midst, I am afraid there are few ponies I can trust absolutely." Celestia begins. "Glyndwr, as a gryphon with little, if any, contact with either Gryphonstone nor ponish high society, you are one of a very small number of guardsponies I can reliably rule out of being a conspirator. You simply have no possible motive nor connection which could result in you being amongst the conspirators, and an in-depth audit proved unable to discern any evidence of bribery when I evaluated your finances and quarters." Turning to Starblaze and Mooncrescent, Celestia nods with a hint of a playful smirk. "As for you two, I am quite well aware you are fundamentally incapable of holding such a secret from me, given how frequently I find you openly bemoaning your father's attempts to get you to spy on me." Starblaze gapes at the casualness of that statement, glancing this way and that in frantic concern that his 'secret' was apparently out.

Celestia holds up a hoof. "At ease, guardspony. It would be a rare family indeed who didn’t seek to take advantage of their children's placement in my guard in some capacity, and I am hardly concerned by the pair of you who have made no effort whatsoever to gather information on his behalf. On the contrary, it is specifically for that reason that I feel I can trust the two of you, something I find is a rare commodity at the moment. Glyndwr, I am assigning you as Rainbow Dash's personal guard; the two of you share classes, so it should not be difficult for you to look after her without raising suspicion. Specifically, you are to be a covert bodyguard; If possible, you should seek to befriend the pegasus, so that your presence near her does not raise suspicion."

Glyndwr puffs out her chest and eagerly salutes. "Of course, your majesty!" She proclaims with perhaps a little too much volume, an obvious glint of pride shining in her eyes. Celestia can't help but look upon the gryphon fondly; despite how they'd described the assignment, Celestia is well aware that the gryphon and pegasus had already formed something of a rapport.

"As a mere cadet, I cannot trust Rainbow Dash's safety to you solely, so I have made arrangements for some additional equipment to be allocated to you. Please report to requisitions for your outfitting." With that out of the way, Celestia turns their attention to the remaining two colts, of whom Starblaze is still looking evidently embarrassed about his 'secret' being out, and Mooncrescent is eagerly bouncing from hoof to hoof.

"As far as you two, I am assigning the pair of you to investigate the incident in Canterlot more directly. You are to report directly to me, and nopony else. You will have the aid of the guards’ many specialists of course; I don’t expect you to spontaneously develop a calling in forensics, after all. But nopony else is to know what your investigation entails precisely. If anypony gives you any trouble, speak to my secretary and she will have it dealt with. In case a matter is too urgent to wait for the admittedly glacial pace of administration, I shall give you both my signet ring so in dire circumstance you may reveal you are acting under my authority. Having said that, you shall not reveal these if not absolutely necessary, as I wish this investigation to occur quietly.”

Mooncrescent grins broadly, showcasing the snaggletooth canines carved into his upper teeth. "You got it, 'Lestia!" The colt salutes, practically beaming at the chance of increased autonomy, action, and responsibility, while his brother beside him winces in uncertainty. Mooncrescent tilts his head to the side. “Where should we start?”

Celestia nods, satisfied at the guardsponies eagerness. His empathy for the situation at hoof was certainly lacking, but at least Celestia could confidently rely upon him to investigate with characteristic gusto. “You may start by interrogating the prisoner; I have already sent word to the dungeons that you will be coming. After that, you may head to the crime scene with a forensics team.” Despite how they wish it might be, Celestia is uncomfortably aware that it's unlikely either of those would turn up too many leads; Any assassination plot worth its salt would have some manner of protection against exposure by its own assassins. Still, it was a start.

Mooncrescent salutes, practically beaming, and Celestia nods. “Very well. You have your orders, you may proceed to carry them out.” Celestia almost mumbles the last part, blinking away tiredness to the best of their capability. Normally, they were able to put on a quite convincing show of attentiveness even after multiple days without sleeping. But ‘normally’ isn’t a day of flying back to Canterlot at transonic speeds, incinerating a squad of assassins, and even performing spells from the nearly lost school of healing magic as well; and that isn’t even to mention the emotional toll, nor the upcoming effort of raising the moon and setting the sun. “I am afraid I have a few more pieces of business to attend to this evening. You should all begin your new duties in the morning, so be sure to be properly rested.”

The cadets all salute to Celestia as the solar monarch strides down the long carpet leading from the throne past them. "Aye-Aye!" "Yes, Sir!" "At once, your majesty!" the diversity of different replies sounds out, as Celestia makes their way towards the infirmary. One more duty awaits them, before they can get any rest.

Remorse

Rainbow Dash’s dreams flit by in a haze of violence, blood, smoke and fire. So much so that when the cyan pegasus jolts up from slumber, the mundanity of her surroundings seems off-putting, somehow. It isn’t altogether unfamiliar; in fact, she had spent quite a bit of time in the very same room, merely a hooffull of weeks before, upon her first arrival at the palace.

“Don’t move! Your ribs are still healing!” A vaguely familiar voice from the side urges. Thankfully, the medical staff had the foresight to strap the pegasus down so that she couldn’t put undue strain on herself; even so, the sudden movement and panicked gasping of the wakening pegasid is enough to inflict a horrific spike of pain straight into her side.

“OW! Owowowowow!” Rainbow Dash grunts as she falls back into the bed, wincing as she tries to control her breathing.

“Go fetch Celestia, they’ll want to know she’s awake.” Doctor Bonezaw was saying to a nurse, before returning to Rainbow Dash’s side, frowning down at the filly. “Two times in as many months you’ve ended up here. You really need to stop making a habit of this.” The doctor states, tersely, though the barest hint of a jovial tone clues Rainbow Dash in that he’s trying his best to make light of the situation. “How do you feel?”

Rainbow Dash doesn’t know how to respond; her mind is still racing, trying to catch up. For the doctor it might have been hours, but for Rainbow Dash, the last thing she remembers is death and fire, and that isn’t going to be alleviated quite so readily. On the contrary, as soon as she thinks about it, the filly begins hyperventilating once more, jerking her head to the doctor with panic, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side that comes with any movement. “What happened!? Is Twilight alright? What about Spike? Did anypony else get hurt? What about the guard, is he-” The flurry of questions flies out of Rainbow Dash as soon as she thinks of them

Bonezaw holds his forehooves up disarmingly. “Woah there, slow down. I’m your doctor, not your instructor, you can ask Celestia all that when they get here.” He states in a characteristically blunt and dispassionate tone. “For right now I can tell you that Celestia’s other student-I assume that's who you’re asking about, right?-is fine, she was checked out of the infirmary just an hour ago. Now, I need you to focus and tell me how you feel. If there’s any other injuries we missed, it is imperative we find them quickly.”

Rainbow Dash’s gaze finds the stone ceiling above her, as a mixture of both dread and relief flow through her. Celestia is coming. “I-I…” Rainbow Dash tries to focus to answer the question, but as she shuts her eyes all she can see is that scene before her again; The bloodcurdling grunt of the guardspony as his voice was cut off, the fear in Twilight’s eyes, the cold stare of the assailant a mere breath away from ending her life. Raising up one hoof, Rainbow Dash touches it to her temple, grunting. Come on, don’t cry, don’t cry, you’re tougher than that! She desperately tries to reassure herself, shaking her head and struggling to block out the all-too fresh, all-too visceral memories.

Bonezaw frowns, stepping back. Years of treating guardsponies- often having to be the one to break the bad news of their comrades not making it back or dying under his care, when their injuries were too serious to heal- had somewhat desensitized him to their reactions. Yet he has to admit, it is somehow more chilling coming from such a young filly in front of him. Especially given how well Rainbow Dash was holding it together, all things considered; he’d certainly met many a trained guardspony who was outright hysterical after a close encounter with death and dismemberment.

Still, he needed her to stay calm right now. Placing one forehoof firmly down on the bed by Rainbow Dash’s side to get her attention, the doctor transfixes her in his gaze. “It’s important that you tell me right now. We already had to perform surgery to fix your ribs back into place, if anything is out of place we are still in the critical phase where your ability to heal hangs in the balance.” Bonezaw enunciates each word clearly, deliberately, and with cold professionalism, something which seems to anchor the pegasus somewhat in the here and now.

“Um… It hurts a lot on my side, and the base of both my wings.” Rainbow Dash explains slowly. “And it hurts to breathe.”

Bonezaw nods. “That sounds about right. Anything else you can feel? Especially if it's further from the other injuries?”

Rainbow Dash focuses, but can’t find much of note. “Uh, the tip of my ear hurts. Or,” Rainbow Dash winces, remembering suddenly that the tip of her ear had been unceremoniously removed from her body. The shock of having lost something permanently- even something as relatively innocuous as that- would have to come later, there is too much to process already. “I guess I don’t have that, huh? Other than the ribs and ear though, I think I managed to get away alright.”

Bonezaw nods, looking down to scribble something on a spreadsheet before swiveling his head around at the distant clip-clop of approaching hooves. “Well, I believe that would be their majesty. I will leave you to it.” Every bit as disengaged as ever, the striped earth pony bows his head lightly before departing to check on somepony or another else.

True to his word, no sooner does he leave than another pony appears in the doorframe, the towering frame of the somber alicorn having to stoop their head to fit through. Without even meaning to, Rainbow Dash shrinks away as a flash of memory of overwhelming power flashes through her, before immediately mentally berating herself for doing so. This was the pony that had saved her, not a threat. Even so, at the mere sight of Celestia, Rainbow could swear she can smell it once again. The ashen scent, of bloody vapor and burning flesh.

“How do you feel?” Although it's the second time since she had awoken that she’d heard those words, the feeling behind them is entirely different, none of the detached clinical attitude of the doctor, and Rainbow Dash knows that the alicorn is not merely asking about her injuries.

“Not great.” Rainbow dash eventually admits, all her usual bluster beaten out of her by what had happened. Taking a deep breath, and wincing in pain as she does, Rainbow Dash gives Celestia a hard stare. “I-I need to know. What happened while I was out? Are Twilight and Spike ok? Did the other ponies…” Rainbow Dash hesitates, biting her lip, almost wishing she could simply not bother asking. But that isn't something she can do; she has to know the answer. “Did anypony else die?”

Celestia gazes softly at Rainbow Dash as they sit by her bedside, lowering themself to address her more directly. “Twilight and Spike are nearly unharmed, thanks to you. Unfortunately, other than the assassins, two other ponies were hurt. The guardspony, I’m afraid, was pronounced dead at the scene.” Celestia enunciates each word clearly, their voice sympathetic yet level. Rainbow Dash got the unfortunate feeling that the alicorn had far too much practice breaking bad news. “The other victim was a tourist. Last I heard, he was in emergency care, it's too early to say if he will pull through or not.”

Rainbow Dash sags visibly, staring listlessly at the wall across from her. “I see.” Is all she says, her eyes lowering. Somepony had died, because assassins were after her.

Uncertainly, Rainbow Dash looks back up to Celestia. “Princess? Why did this happen?” Rainbow Dash looks down at shaking hooves. “Some… Somepony wanted to kill me. Did I… Did I do something wrong? Why would anypony want to hurt me?”

Celestia sets their jaw and shakes their head firmly. “No, of course not, Rainbow Dash. Truthfully, I doubt whoever is behind this even knows your name. You were a target because you were my student, and for no other reason.” The alicorn’s gaze falters, the shadow of guilt crossing over it. “You’ve scarcely been in my care for a month, and yet you’ve already been so badly hurt twice. I’ve made a terrible mistake bringing you here, and endangered the life of a filly. I should make reservations for you to return to Cloudsdale immediately-"

Rainbow Dash surges to an upright sitting position, ignoring the pain that strikes in her flank, tears in her youthful eyes. "No!" She shouts out, with enough force to give Celestia pause. "I... A pony died, trying to protect me, today! More ponies died trying to kill me! I can't... how could I live with myself if I just went back to Cloudsdale and tried to become some stunt flier?" Her voice cracks, but the filly doesn't let up. "I have to see this through... Because if I didn't, what kind of pony would I be? I need to learn how to fight, so I can protect Equestria in the stead of... Of a pony who can't anymore!"

Celestia's gaze softens, with an expression of pained sympathy. "Rainbow Dash, what happened today was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done, and you should feel proud you managed to protect your fellow student. I shudder to think what could have happened if you weren't both there for eachother."

Rainbow Dash jams a hoof into the much-taller alicorn's chest, even though the act requires her to lean to the absolute limit of her restraints. "If it wasn't my fault, it wasn't yours either, so stop trying to make up for it!" Rainbow Dash’s voice echoes in the hospital chamber, loud enough to hurt her own ears. “I came here on my own, you didn’t make me. Whatever happens because of that… Is at least as much the consequence of my actions as yours.”

Celestia’s expression takes on a different tone, a glimmer of something, coming out from beneath the sorrow and guilt. A spark of recognition, or admiration. After a long moment of silence, a hint of a bittersweet smile finds the edge of Celestia’s mouth. “You are a truly remarkable pony, Rainbow Dash, I hope you realize that.” Celestia takes a deep breath, standing up and trotting over to the window to survey the city beyond. “The guards are working exhaustively to make sure whoever is behind this is brought to justice. For now, it's best if you just lay low. Palace security has been tightened, whatever may come I will ensure your safety.”

Rainbow Dash shivers at the last statement, the steely, merciless edge in Celestia’s voice. Though Celestia is gazing out over Canterlot, it seems as though they recognize Rainbow’s reaction, as Rainbow Dash can somehow just feel the release of tension in the air as the alicorn forcibly calms themself. “So does that mean I can stay?” Rainbow Dash asks uncertainly.

Celestia frowns and presses one hoof to their forehead. “For now, at least. I suppose we cannot be certain you would not be in danger if you returned. It is unlikely the perpetrators will be so brazen as to try and attack again so soon, but we shall be on our guard nonetheless. The guard has already been dispatched to investigate, and the palace district is on lockdown. With luck, we should have some answers soon.” Celestia explains, somewhere between regretful and authoritative.

Rainbow Dash fidgets unsurely, frowning. Something is bugging her, but she doesn’t know if she should ask.

The need to decide disappears quickly enough, because as perceptive as ever, Celestia notices. “What troubles you, my pupil?” Celestia asks, as gently as can be. Somehow, their voice seems different today, almost more old-fashioned than the way the alicorn normally speaks.

“I-it’s just…” Rainbow Dash hesitates again, wanting to swallow her words, but the knowing gaze of the alicorn above her seems to draw them out of her. Rainbow Dash bites her lip, before shaking her head suddenly as if exasperated by herself. “You’ve lived for centuries, you’ve fought in all sorts of wars… You must have seen countless ponies die in your time. Taken on plenty of students over the centuries. Why do you care so much about what happens to me?” She finally blurts out.

Celestia appraises the pegasus with an almost curious gaze. “It is true. I have ordered thousands of ponies to their deaths for the sake of Equestria, and have seen countless generations come and go. But you are wrong about one thing, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia takes a deep breath. “I have not taken on ‘plenty of students’ as you suggest. In all my years, I have only ever taken on three. Yourself, Twilight, and… Dear Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia flinches at that last one, in apparent discomfort. “I have to wonder if it was a wise decision, to involve myself so directly in the life of a mortal pony. I have much cause for regret, Rainbow Dash. But in you and Twilight, I see the future of Equestria. If I may help you along in any way, I feel… privileged to do so.”

Rainbow Dash blinks, not expecting that answer. Three students, in however-long Celestia had been around? And all so recently, as well; With how Twilight had been taken in as a student so near Rainbow Dash, the pegasus had assumed it must just be a common occurrence for the alicorn. And that isn’t even to speculate on the weight of the words, ‘future of Equestria’.

Raising from their repose, Celestia nods to Rainbow Dash. “I am afraid I must go. It is time to set the sun, and I will need to read reports. Not to mention…” Despite their best intentions, Celestia finds themself yawning, blinking away exhaustion. The alicorn allows a small giggle at the break from the serious tone of the conversation. “Well, I suppose that just about tells you all you need to know, hrm? I shall be sure to return once able. Please, do your best to rest, and put recent events from your mind.” Celestia bows their head.

Rainbow Dash hesitates before putting on a determined face and nodding. If nothing else, she can make sure she isn’t giving the ruler of Equestria even more things to worry about. Besides, she has plenty to think about; far more than the admittedly rather muscle headed pegasus is either used to, or prefers.

Rainbow Dash’s head hits the pillow, staring up towards the ceiling, listening to the click-clack of Celestia’s hoofsteps as they slowly trot away.

Author's Note

Apologies if this chapter seems a tad redundant; it was originally placed later on and I had a Mooncrescent and Starblaze chapter here to give us a little break from the "ponies walking around being sad" show, but then I looked over the order of the timeline and determined it made more sense for this one to be first. Crescy and Starblaze chapter next time, though!

Believe it or not I didn't write the "I'm your doctor, not your instructor!" line to purposefully imitate the line from star trek I only realized that just now on rereading. Crazy how these things just worm their way out over time.

Investigation

Mooncrescent bobbles back and forth as he jauntily trots down the familiar palace halls alongside his brother. “Isn’t this exciting!? Celestia gave us a secret mission! Us! Oh, father’s gonna eat his words… Though, I guess it’s a secret mission, so we can’t tell him…” Mooncrescent scrunches up his face at that, disappointed as he outwits himself.

Starblaze gives him a harsh gaze. “You should take this more seriously.” He remarks, bluntly, fixating his gaze upon the approaching, dark threshold of the palace dungeons. “Do you not understand how important this is?” Despite himself, Starblaze can’t help shaking slightly; somehow, he’d been placed in the center of the greatest breach of Equestrian security in the last century, entirely by accident. It was up to him and his brother to solve it, and they weren’t even out of cadet school! The weight of the eyes of history rested heavy upon him. “The safety of Equestria is riding firmly on our shoulders.”

Mooncrescent rolls his eyes. “Oh, whatever! Hopefully that means there’ll be fighting. Though I guess Celly would be upset if we jumped to that too quickly…” He scrunches up his muzzle again. “Oh well, it’ll still be fun!”

Starblaze groans and hangs his head, as he begins trotting down the stairs into the dungeons. Getting through to Mooncrescent the gravity of the situation was just impossible.

It had been a while since he’d last been down here; The chamber is dark, rocky, a tad moist. Privately, Starblaze wonders if the latter is intentional, to really sell the feeling of ‘you are in a dungeon now.’ Another guardspony, perhaps in her late thirties or early forties, turns to appraise the two with a subtle but very real disdain behind her professional expression. Both parties look each other up before speaking; the other royal guard, an earth pony, is outfitted in a mostly standard guard uniform over her pallid red fur and short, cropped blonde mane.

“Hmph. You two must be cadets Starblaze and Mooncrescent.” The other pony remarks flippantly, ceasing to lean against her spear as she crosses into the room in front of them. “I still cannot fathom what I need you two for, but I suppose we will be working together. I am Serjeant Heartwhisper, resident jailor, and interrogator. I suppose I am technically also the resident executioner, not that I’ve ever needed to perform that particular service.” The pony in question nods to the two colts. “The prisoner is right this way. I will tolerate your presence as ordered, but please do not interfere with my methods, interrogation is a delicate science.”

Starblaze and Mooncrescent glance at each other and shrug. “You don’t need to worry. We are here to observe, no more.” Starblaze asserts; it is true, at least, as long as everything went according to plan. I suppose that it can’t be helped that they don’t like us, I certainly wouldn’t like it either if some fresh recruit was suddenly placed in charge of me for no apparent reason. Starblaze ponders, somewhat sympathetically. Still, he has to remain aware; the possibility that this pony is part of the conspiracy is all too real, and he is here to ensure the interrogation is performing its true purpose.

With that in mind, he stays on guard as he follows the mare to a sealed cell with four guards, two on the inside and two on the outside. The prisoner inside is heavily restrained, both rear and forelegs cuffed to the floor and a table respectively, a steel mask sealing his muzzle. As the door clicks shut behind her, Heartwhisper nods and motions to the pony in question. “Unmuzzle him.”

On cue, the guardsponies on either side seize the prisoner, slam him down against the table with wholly unnecessary heavy-hoofedness, before inserting a key into either side of the masks mechanism which removes the jawpiece from the top half, allowing it to be removed. Though the guardsponies are mostly stoic in operation, the sheer severity of their demeanor radiate an aura of hostility, and Starblaze rather gets the impression that they wish they could simply snap the prisoner's neck and dump him in a shallow grave.

The prisoner makes no sound, although he cannot help but work his sore jaw from side to side, as Serjeant Heartwhisper sits before him, every bit as silent as her prey. The pegasid’s jaw had been set in place by a brace, but it's still readily apparent that it is in very poor shape after being snapped open earlier that day, and behind his lifeless expression Mooncrescent can make out a whisper of pain struggling to get out.

Seconds pass by in agonizing silence. Eventually, unable to take it anymore, Mooncrescent leans over to Starblaze, hissing out “Why isn’t anypony saying anything?” between his teeth.

Starblaze shoots a look Mooncrescent’s way before pulling him to the side. “Keep it down, it’s a standard interrogation tactic. Most ponies can only take the tension for so long before snapping. Just watch for now, alright?”

Mooncrescent scrunches up his muzzle, but nods. So far, this is less fun than hoped, but it is still just starting.

Serjeant Heartwhisper, meanwhile, was toying with a curved double-sided blade with apparently detached curiosity, as if the interrogation was not even on her mind. “Hmph. Nice enough blade. Blued steel, huh? But clearly made with precision craftswork. Think I see lathe lines in there, too.” She muses, not apparently addressing her thoughts to anypony present, before abruptly slamming the dagger down into the table without warning, eliciting a loud cracking noise and causing everypony in the room to flinch; no less the prisoner, who then promptly groans in pain as the sudden movement had caused him to move his broken jaw.

Serjeant Heartwhisper grins at the reaction and leans forward, towering over the unfortunate pegasus who instinctively cowers away despite remaining stubbornly silent, as she pries the blade out from the table once more. “You and your buddies- Oh, sorry, you and those piles of ash that somepony is sweeping into the garbage presently-all were carrying these. Now, just how could you have gotten your hooves on something like this, hrm? You certainly don’t seem like high society, but those cloaks of yours and the worksponyship on these daggers are both a little too standardized and a little too well crafted to be something you put together or bought yourself.”

Flippantly, the interrogator tosses the dagger in the air and catches it again, not even paying attention to the prisoner. “So it's obvious enough that you have a well-off sponsor. Probably somepony in Canterlot, even.” She flicks her eyes to the pony in question; even if he refused to speak, his body language would still give something away. He was eyeing the blade uneasily, with a spot of confusion behind his eyes. At the least, the current line of questioning did concern him, but he didn’t seem to be showing either relief nor anxiety at the suggestion of where his employers had come from.

Heartwhisper’s response is, as usual, carefully calculated. A self confident smirk, before slouching back into the chair. The trick is to look like you already have everything figured out; the more desperate a captive is to keep their secrets, the more likely they are to accidentally let something spill.

Mooncrescent watches with blank confusion, not understanding exactly what is happening. He glances up at Starblaze, who gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’s working her magic.” He whispers to his brother.

Heartwhisper reaches for a notebook held by one of the guards and casually flips through the pages, back to ignoring the prisoner all over again, who is in fact beginning to look rather skittish. “Dontcha worry, I’m sure our experts will get these all sorted out and we’ll have no further need of you in no time. Then we can go ahead and dispose of you, like the trash you are.”

The conversation proceeded that way for a little longer, the prisoner still appearing skittish but… Not to the statements you would expect. Nothing regarding their personal well-being got any reaction from them; only some of the remarks about their probable origins and the like. Starblaze furrows his brow and leans over to Mooncrescent.

“This isn’t normal. Even the best trained soldiers generally show some interest in what happens to themselves.” He mutters. “There’s something wrong with this pony.” Turning to one of the guards outside the door, Starblaze jerks his head towards it. “Let me in.”

The guard blinks and hesitates. “I’m not supposed to let anypony in when an interrogation is in progress…”

Starblaze snorts derisively and stands up as tall as he can, almost reaching eye level with the guard. “I’m on a direct, personal mission from the solar throne. If you want to stand in my way, then by all means, but I will require your name and rank so that I can recommend you for immediate reassignment.” He threatens, pushing his muzzle right up in the other ponies face.

That shut him up fast enough. The prisoner and interrogator both look over at the sound of the unlocking door in surprise, right before Starblaze bucks it open and strolls in like he owns the place, while Mooncrescent watches from the other side with wide eyes, curious where his brother is going with this.

Trotting right up to the table, Starblaze hops up onto it nonchalantly, completely ignoring the derisive look from the interrogator and the confused blinking of the prisoner. “Heya, bud. Don’t have your name, so all I can call ya is bud, I hope that’s alright.” Starblaze states, adopting the most casual tone in his repertoire. “Thought I’d run this show for a bit.” He proceeds to shrug noncommittally, feigning as though it’s an entirely arbitrary decision.

Heartwhisper stares at him aghast, standing up to her hooves. “What is the meaning of this? I had this well in hoof! I’d almost-”

“Hush. Personal mission from the crown, recall?” Starblaze retorts, casually shoving her to the side without looking and sitting himself down in her seat, propping his hind legs up onto the table. “And my, ‘Lestia wants this taken care of quickly. Think they don’t want to have to go through the bother of disposing of ashen remains twice in a week, and would rather get this buster over here torched sooner rather than later.” Starblaze remarks in his closest approximation of Mooncrescent’s normal speech patterns.

The sheer audacity of the remark seemed to shut up Heartwhisper if nothing else, but the prisoner remains… entirely calm. Something is definitely off, even the best trained soldiers would have a reaction to that, especially on the same day as being confronted by Celestia’s full fury; it would be impossible for that to not leave an impression. And so, increasingly confident, Starblaze continues. “Of course, that's assuming you're actually responsible.”

As hoped for, everypony in the room looks bewildered at that statement, and Heartwhisper seems to get her bearings together, leaning over and hissing. “What in Tartarus’s name are you going on about, of course he’s responsible, Celestia themself saw the whole thing go down!”

Starblaze waves her off. “Oh, don’t worry about her, she’s the least of your worries right now.” The colt forces a yawn as he crosses his hooves on his barrel. The prisoner’s reactions are just as odd as he’d thought; theres no sense of either fear, hope, nor determination, almost resembling blank apathy more than anything. In fact, he doesn’t even seem that well reserved, given how he winces when his jaw hurts and is relatively easily startled. This isn’t just discipline keeping him from speaking; something else is going on here.

Casting a cursory glance Heartwhisper’s way, Starblaze continues, “She wasn’t even there during the fight-well, more of a massacre, really. I was, but I betcha don’t remember me, do ya, you silly colt?” Starblaze ruffles the prisoner's mane despite the pony quite obviously being older than him; the prisoner in question just stares at him in disbelief.

Good. I’ve got him off guard. Now it’s time to strike. “‘Course, if you weren’t exactly in your right mind, I imagine our beloved princess might go a tad easier on ya.” Starblaze shrugs. “Ya know the works… Chemical indoctrination, drug use… Magical alteration.”

A flash lights up in the prisoner's eyes as he jolts upright at the last one. Bingo. “we acshted entireshly on our own, your not goingsh to get any…” The prisoner’s slurred speech is cut off by a coughing fit and a nauseous look, as though in deep pain. “...More than that fromsh me!”

Starblaze hops back down to his hooves, shrugging. “Oh, well, what a shame. I guess my hunch was wrong.” As if. The royal companion casually walks back to the door, carefully maintaining the casual facade, before glancing back to the prisoner. “In that case, anypony I should know about to give your regards to? Heartfelt last words? Family, friends, lovers? Dear old ‘Lestia mightn’t give ‘em the time of day, but I’m feeling charitable.”

There is no reaction from the prisoner, no sign the words even mean anything to him. That tells Starblaze all he needs to know. He wasn’t thinking, trying to send them on a wild goose chase, or resisting the urge, nothing of the sort; He didn’t have even an inkling of accepting the offer. Starblaze simply shrugs and waves backwards without looking. “Well, so much for that. Adios!” And with that, the colt struts back out into the hall with just as much self assured swagger as he had entered, telekinetically slamming it shut behind him without bothering to look back at the incredulous, still somewhat shocked looks of the three ponies inside.

Starblaze droops with apparent exhaustion the exact moment he isn’t in view anymore, falling down onto his barrel, promptly being joined by Mooncrescent. “That was pretty wild, Blazey! I don’t think I’ve seen you ever act like that before.” Mooncrescent sounds halfway between awed and curious.

Starblaze shudders and nods his head. “Well, it worked out well enough. Let’s watch the rest of this interrogation.”

It takes quite a while for Heartwhisper to regain her composure fully and reassert control over the interrogation, and little more is learned for the time being. Eventually, the interrogator is finished, the prisoner is locked back into his mask, and the door opens.

Serjeant Heartwhisper steps heavily as she strides back out of the room, turning to face Starblaze with a mixture of both irritation and begrudging respect. “Hrmph. I see what you were doing there, but next time you should at least tell me the plan before you start it.”

Starblaze scratches the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. “Eheh.. Sorry, but there wasn’t really an opportunity there. My instincts were bugging me, and I knew there was more than met the eye.”

Heartwhisper nods. “Well, despite how untalkative our buddy there is, we got at least a little bit out of him. I’ll write up a report for you to review, and continue our efforts. We’ll crack him sooner or later.” She shrugs. “At least you confirmed he isn’t mute.”

Starblaze salutes and nods. “For now, I think we’d best check in with the forensic team. Leave the report with Celestia’s secretary, we’ll get it from her.”

Mooncrescent, who had been rolling around on the ground like a wet dog, flops back over onto his barrel. “Ugh, finally.” He bounces up to his hooves, smirking at Starblaze. “Least we’ll get to stretch our legs with this next part…”

“You’re going to have to be patient with a lot of this, you know.” Starblaze admonishes his overeager younger sibling. “Even if you don’t recognize how important this task is, you’ve got to at least know how much faith Celestia is putting in us.”

Mooncrescent looks actually somewhat miffed by that statement, an unusual touch of seriousness entering his face as he follows his brother up the stairs. “I do know how important it is, Blazey. Just ‘cause I’m looking forward to action doesn’t mean I’m going to compromise the operation.” He bumps into Starblaze. “I did technically get the same training as you, ya know.”

Starblaze glances back, mildly surprised. Even having known him all his life, his brother could still surprise him from time to time, it seems. At the least, it sets him at ease sufficiently to relax and stop haranguing him for the timespan it takes to leave the palace and head to the crime scene, which is conveniently almost immediately outside of the palace gates.

Mare, Celestia wasn’t kidding, to be bold enough to attack this close to the palace in broad daylight… Starblaze shakes his head in dismay. The palace district is thankfully empty save for a number of guardsponies, many of whom Starblaze doesn’t even recognize; Reserve troops, militia, veterans. That would keep the media out, at least for the time being; the last thing they need is a reporter team eager to slander the royal guards position while they are trying to do their job.

The investigation team is already there, of course, though Starblaze has to wonder what exactly they could be looking for that they wouldn't have already found. In no time, looking around, he finds Mooncrescent bounding up before him, meeting up with the earth pony stallion in charge of the operation. Not a member of the palace guard, but rather, the local gendarmerie. Perhaps Celestia had thought that would reduce the odds of him being a conspirator..?

“Mooncrescent and Starblaze, right? I was told you’d be coming.” The stallion looks around the operation. “Not sure what you’re expecting, though. We’re just about done here already, anyways.”

Mooncrescent salutes; less a gesture of respect and more just for the aesthetic. “Roger that, but we will need to hear your full report! What were you able to find out?” Mooncrescent tilts his head.

The stallion hesitates before answering. “I can’t really say. Labs will take around a day to get results back from, and the forensics teams are going to have to look at… Whatever is left of these.” The stallion makes a face as he vaguely gestures at the gruesome, ashen remains of the local assassins, which are presently being carted off.

Starblaze casts a look over at the cart inquisitively; a duo of ponies is drawing it, both palace guards. Looking back, he jerks his head towards them. “I’ll go with them, you feel free to finish up here, Crescy.” Without waiting for a response, Mooncrescent’s older brother trots off towards the cart. Mooncrescent just shrugs and turns back to the lead investigator.

“What about the plants?” Mooncrescent asks, without any apparent rationale. The investigator can only blink at him in bewilderment, prompting him to continue. “Ya know, the plants!” Mooncrescent trots over to an utterly innocuous seeming burr, halfway scorched beyond recognition, seared into the blackened flesh of what had once been a pony, which was in turn seared into the ground. “These aren’t native to Canterlot, they can’t grow at this altitude. Besides, it’s unlikely you’d step through a stickler plant like this in an urban area, which suggests the attackers were someplace else not long ago!” Mooncrescent looks from side to side in consternation. “...Did nopony look at them at all?”

The stallion looks around, embarrassed, and frowns deeply. “I doubt the forensics lab would know much about that. It’d be better to take that to a botanist, I imagine. Are there any more?”

Mooncrescent shrugs. “Probably were, I saw them right after Celestia showed up! But I don’t think most of them survived the fight…” Delicately, Mooncrescent leans over and attempts to clear the flesh caked into the stonework, with little success.

“Here, let me.” The gendarmerie interrupts Mooncrescents attempts, digging into the ashen ground with his hooves with little difficulty, enabling Mooncrescent to delicately pry the burr from the ground without any further damage, hopefully maintaining some of its recognizability. The earth pony salutes once more. “Is there anything else you needed?”

Mooncrescent pauses, pondering. “No, I don’t think so. Well, while Blazey’s away, I guess I might as well go try and find somepony who can take a look at this. Thanks, mister!”

Bound in Shadow

Rainbow Dash had been here before; she knew she had. Not just in her waking hours, but she’d seen this hall just as it is now, strutting down the empty corridors, her only company the shattered panes of stained glass and the howling gale in the shadows beyond. At the end of the hall would be the two animated panes of Wind Rider and Shadow Kicker… Assuming they aren’t still shattered, anyhow. But she had no intention of walking down to the end of that hall.

Climbing up over a piece of rubble, the pegasus frowns. The first time she had been here, she hadn’t been to Canterlot yet, didn’t recognize the similarities and differences between the hall and the one she walked down every morning on her way to classes. But now, standing up on a ledge formed by a section of ceiling that had caved in, the unfamiliarity of her surroundings began to dawn on her.

Not the hall itself; The windows are mostly still recognizable, at least the few that are still intact, and the weathering and damage inflicted upon the vaunted ceiling and floors made them too damaged to tell if they were the same or not. But beyond… In the storm of shadows and pouring rain, in the darkness of a midnight sky with the new moon dimly visible through a gap in the clouds, is a landscape of foreboding shapes, silhouettes of mountains and trees, that do not resemble anything in Canterlot.

What’s going on? Why am I here? Rainbow Dash looks around frantically. She was in a dream, that much was for sure, but that observation itself is disconcerting. She did not usually have lucid dreams, so how was it she was so aware? How is it she remembers being here before so clearly? How was…

The moon. Rainbow Dash’s gaze jerks towards the dark shape of it lurking in the sky, oddly prominent considering the otherwise sheer darkness of her surroundings; her very awareness of the space around her simply more proof this isn’t real, as the lack of discernible light sources should have made it impossible to see anything.

“What do you want!?” Rainbow shouted, standing with her legs widened in a combative stance. Her ribs don’t ache, not here, and in fact she felt as strong as ever. “I know you’re out there!”

“My, Somepony is feeling adventurous tonight.”

The voice feels deafening, striking Rainbow Dash like a sledgehammer, forcing her down to the ground. A burst of pain surges through her, as the voice gives way to amused cackling.

“Our subject remembrest us! Yet they did not heed our warning. Thou have tasted only a hint of what is to come.”

Before Rainbow Dash’s very eyes, the moon seems to grow, its shape morphing and shifting until it descends to the very earth before her. The pegasus wants to bolt into the air, to try and fly away despite how stupid that would be in the raging stormwinds that bellow all around, but she finds herself firmly rooted in place, beholding the nebulous cloud of darkness and stars before her as it takes on the regal form of an Alicorn; every bit as majestic, and every bit as horrific, as Celestia had been when they’d crashed down to earth like a raging meteor to rescue her.

With a faint smile, the eyes of the being before her slowly open, lifting their head to appraise the pegasus. Deep blue eyes, serpentine in their gaze, lock onto Rainbow Dash’s, long fangs forming a manic grin like shards of shattered glass only somewhat locking together.

Rainbow Dash opens her mouth as if to speak, but chokes on her breath, no words able to spill forth. The air all around her feels frigid, her every muscle taut yet unable to follow her orders to bolt away, do anything to escape from the creature before her.

Yet for all the similarities, there was a distinct difference from the inferno around Celestia on… Had it only been the previous day? It felt so distant from this place. This Thing, this walking darkness walking in ponish shape, was poised, precise, controlled in a way that Celestia’s fury had not been. Wings spread wide, a night sky’s worth of stars visible through them, as the alicorn lifts from the ground without so much as flapping, and the full silhouette of the terror became visible from the flash of lightning in the forest beyond them.

Rainbow Dash instinctively covered her eyes with a hoof, blinded by the intensity of the light. When it fades once more, there is a quite familiar scene playing out. The shadowy entity before her seemed… Somehow distracted, barely even paying attention to the pegasus she was supposedly haunting the dreams of.

Craters, red hot, mark the ground. Standing within it is… Celestia, but not Celestia as they are, but only as Rainbow Dash remembered them. Blazing with supernatural intensity, a living embodiment of rage and hatred given substance. That dreaded laughter filled the air once more.

“Ha! I see the accursed Sun has not lost its touch. Good, mine victory over them would be sour should they become feeble.”

The source of the voice, that alicorn-shaped blur of night and darkness, turns back to Rainbow Dash, almost as though it had forgotten she was there, and thunders down to the ground before her. Rainbow Dash yelps, scurrying backwards and diving off the edge of the rubble pile, whatever rationality she possessed replaced by a pure animal instinct of simply getting away from that thing.

The Nightmare simply chuckles, raising one hoof as it's horn lights up, and all of the scene except the narrow path between the alicorn and the pegasus simply vanishes into a miasma of star-studded darkness, flickering and flowing upwards like nebulous flames.

“BE STILL, Disciple of the Sun. I would have words with you.”

Rainbow Dash is frozen in place, as the alicorn approaches, closing the gap with every deliberate step. This close, Rainbow Dash marks out more of the entity than just the blob of stars and negative space it had seemed to be. Its form is slender, athletic, almost predatorial in disposition, bedecked in ancient, finely forged armor of an unfamiliar style, curved and bladed in forms just as elegant as they were cruel.

Swallowing and doing her best to put on a defiant face, Rainbow Dash finally manages to work up the nerve to shakily stand up and speak. “Wh-what do you want!? Why are you showing me this?”

“Why am I showing you? Why, Rainbow Dash, surely you must have realized, that it is you who are showing us what you have seen.”

A hoof reaches out, raising Rainbow Dash's muzzle even as she cringed away, forcing her to look into the alicorn's eyes, so close now. The constricted serpentine pupils draw her gaze, holding her enraptured like she was hypnotized.

“You were warned, Disciple of the Sun, but you were foolish enough not to listen. Did you think you could take our place by the Sun’s side so readily, without suffering the consequences?”

Through the mystic power and majesty that saturated each word, Rainbow Dash can just barely hear a twinge of mortal emotion through it; A sound of venom, bitterness, envy… and perhaps even a smidge of regret?

“First blood has been drawn, my young subject, but it shall not be last. Soon, Equestria shall be awash in it. You should have run when you had the chance.”

The alicorn rears up once more, its form highlighted against the blackness beyond, bloodcurdling laughter echoing from its muzzle. Rainbow Dash gulps, and with all her will, shouts back once more. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“‘Who are we’? My, has our exile been for so long that our beloved subjects do not remember us?”

A hoof places itself upon Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, who remains stock rigid as much as she might have liked to bat it away.

“I am the darkness that blots out the sun. I am the stars you have shunned. I am the princess of night eternal. I am Nightmare Moon, and soon I shall return to reclaim my throne.”

A rush, a nauseating blur, and the scene around the pony and vaguely pony-like entity shifts once more. The black storm clouds dissipate, and it seems as though the hall around them rushes past, leaving the pair of them in a courtyard surrounded by dark trees and the silhouettes of distant mountains. Above her is a sky that would have been breathtaking had she not been so terrified, the stars clearer than she had ever seen before, even nebulae and numerous constellations dimly visible to the naked eye. Looming towers encircle them from all around, midnight blue streamers fluttering in the breeze. Rainbow Dash looks around in confusion, the sight before her far distant from the rest of the dream.

“Look upon it, my subject, and see our rightful place. See the glory that should have been mine, and soon, shall be!”

Rainbow Dash’s gaze is drawn without her intention to the steps leading up from the courtyard, upon which sits a single, elegant throne of carved obsidian, sitting upon the rubble of some manner of fine woodwork.

“Our exile has been long, but soon the traitorous usurper will be destroyed, and you shall all learn to fear the glory of the Night.”

Rainbow Dash rounds on the dark Alicorn, stance widening as she growls at them. “Are you the one behind the attack!? Just to get at my… Teacher?” Rainbow Dash hesitates before the last word. Should she have said ‘Princess’? ‘Monarch’? Anything else more formal? But somehow, having known them for the past month, something more casual just felt more natural.

The aura around the alicorn, which had almost been oddly amiable a moment ago, turns cold; quite literally, as Rainbow Dash can feel the magic of the aura shift as it becomes more malicious. Nightmare Moon steps before her, spreading their wings and simply staring deeply into her eyes, the sheer force of their presence forcing Rainbow Dash to fall back onto her haunches, whimpering involuntarily. But before the alicorn says anything, they seem to relax somehow, smirking viciously instead of raging.

“You will learn your loyalties are misplaced in good time. For now you should learn well from that traitor, for I shall have need of such servants upon my return.”

Rainbow Dash shuts her eyes tightly, takes in a deep breath, and commits to what is quite possibly the stupidest thing she had done that day. “You’re wrong!” Her voice sounds out of place, weak, frail, in that place, compared to the living embodiment of Night before her, but she won’t relent. Images flash through her head, both of the gentle, regal, sometimes oddly casual Celestia she’d known for the past month, and the infernal being of unending rage that they had been the previous day. “Celestia… Wouldn’t betray anypony! I don’t know how you knew them, and I don’t know what you are, but Celestia isn’t a traitor, and you won’t defeat them.”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrow, looking down upon the fledgeling pegasus with an aura of spite and malice. But rather than react with fury, the alicorn's response is merely somewhat bemused, measured.

“You’ve seen their true form, and still deny the truth? Do you even understand what we are? You are more foolish than I had thought. Very well then, if you have such faith in your dear Sun, ask them yourself, whatever became of your rightful ruler. You will learn, in time.”

Apparently uninterested in any further discourse, the alicorn folds in upon themself, like space had just closed around the starbound shape leaving only blank space where it had been. Rainbow Dash blinks in surprise, both at the relatively calm response, and the disappearance of the Thing.

And yet, though the apparent source had vanished, Rainbow Dash had yet to awaken from slumber, looking around the unfamiliar castle, half expecting some manner of monster to leap out at her, but instead being left alone. An aura of cold, burning loneliness descends upon the place, as she uncertainly steps forwards, knowing little else to do but look around.

Am I really dreaming? Rainbow Dash is starting to doubt it, with how detailed this place, this place she had never seen before, is. Ascending steps of carved stone, she makes her way to the solitary throne, when something upon the ground catches her eye; Two banners, one depicting the sun and the other the moon, lay below the thrones feet in tatters. Following up to where they must have been placed before, Rainbow Dash frowns. In their place is a single banner, a dark moon in a black sky only punctuated by a hooffull of stars.

Stepping around the dusky, ominous throne, Rainbow Dash lifts up a shred of the banner. There is a sense of melancholia that hangs around it, yet it doesn’t feel like her own emotion. What is this..? Is this what it's like to be magically sensitive, like Twilight? Without the Nightmare hanging around, it had begun to stand out to her more; Ever since she’d fallen into this place, she’d become so keenly aware of so many feelings, like aura’s hanging in the air that she can’t perceive with any sense, yet still somehow feels in her heart.

Not knowing what else to do, she sits down on the ground, some distance from that throne. Gazing off towards the dark horizons, she blinks, slightly startled. She does recognize those shapes, but not from Canterlot. It’s the Canterhorn mountains as viewed from the east, the same view she’d had while flying to Celestia’s court to begin her lessons.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell how long she’d stayed there, exploring an empty castle as though it was lost in time, damaged by some manner of battle. Slowly, bit by bit, the world around seems to give way, disappearing fragment by fragment, until all that is left is an infinite expanse basked in an endless Twilight.

Author's Note

I think it’s about time I showed off the map I made for this thing! tbf i’m not sure exactly where to put it and this authors note seems like a very random spot but oh well I dont know where else. Maybe the story description?

At any rate if you have paid any attention to the location descriptions and cardinal directions you’d notice this story really does not use anything close to a canon map. So here is the map I made for it;

apologies for me being very bad at coming up with proper ponish place names. I will endeavor to improve on the original place names before they come up in story. If anypony is good at coming up with horse puns shoot a DM my way I could use the help.

Map notwithstanding, the survey results are also in and I thought I’d share some results I found particularly interesting! Firstly, my overwhelming gratitude to the 35 respondents, that was a great turnout and very nice to see that much feedback. So now just some bullet points that I found interesting, feel free to skip if you don’t care. I do have one question at the end I would like if anypony could answer, though.

The most popular request was more of Twilight and Rainbow Dash learning new skills, and the least popular was action-adventure. Guess nopony is here for that, huh?

Despite saying to answer two answers only on the first question, almost everypony answered either three or four. Figures.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, of the list of characters to incorporate more into the story, Shining Armor and Spike were tied for most popular. Everypony really wants to see more of Twilight’s brothers seemingly. Shucks, guess that means I have to write more of Worst Pony...

Second place was a three-way tie with Fluttershy, Mooncrescent/Starblaze, and Trixie. I’m honestly shocked that many people like Mooncrescent and Starblaze. Shocked but also happy!

The next canon character I have showing up in the story seems to have been the least popular canon character pick. Whoops!

Of people who had opinions, most said they wanted Sunburst and Sunset to be related. Also, the overwhelming majority wanted Sunset Shimmer to appear in the story, about 77%~ of people.

Of 35 respondents, 6 wanted to see no original characters at all. Apparently they were heavily outvoted so guess that means I can feel free to incorporate the OC’s more.

Interestingly to me, Captain Silent Serpent was the only OC that anypony singled out as disliking. My cousin happens to also absolutely loathe that character and I’ve never understood why. So if anypony dislikes them, I would be very curious to hear exactly why you don’t like them, because they seem innocuous enough to me. Of the OC’s they were the second least voted to see more of (only six votes) and the most voted to be disliked (with four votes).

That’s all for now! Thank-you everypony for reading, and doubly thanks to my survey respondents! This was a lot of fun!

Recovery

When Rainbow Dash awoke, she was still surrounded by Twilight. Off to her left, was the dim twilight of early morning, the sun still lingering below the horizon; on her right, of course, is the lavender unicorn commonly known as ‘Twilight’, gazing down at the ground despondently, with a purple dragon clinging tightly to her side.

“Hey.” It was a very simple statement, about all Rainbow Dash could put together at first with her raspy voice as she was still recovering from her dream (if it could even be called that), but it was enough to startle both Twilight and the dragon by her side.

Before Twilight can respond, Spike butts in first, hopping up on the bed with tears in his eyes as he wraps his stubby arms as far around Rainbow Dash’s barrel as possible. “R-Raynbuhw D-as!” The tiny dragon blubbers, wailing with the wholly unreserved emotiveness of an infant.

“Woah, hey there, squirt. I think that’s the closest you’ve gotten to saying my name.” Rainbow Dash can’t help but smile softly as one hoof runs over the dragons frills gently. “Sorry if I worried you... Ow.” The last bit cuts in as the simple result of the movement putting some extra weight onto her left side.

It’s about then that Twilight manages to get a word in edgewise. “Rainbow! Are you okay? How badly did you get hurt? The guards didn’t know and the doctor just waved me off!” Twilight frets, deep concern readily apparent in her wide purple eyes.

“Heh, I’m... ow... Fine. Mostly. Really, I am!” Rainbow Dash manages a weak smile and the last part at the unconvinced look that Twilight gives her. “You know me, no way a couple shattered ribs are gonna keep me down. I’ll be up and at’em faster than you can blink.”

Twilight’s frown deepens. “No, you won’t! Aggravating an injury like this could lead to sepsis or jostle the ribs back out of position, worst case scenario you could puncture a lung or collapse your thoracic cavity and-“

The purple unicorn is cut off by Rainbow Dash rolling her eyes, waving her hooves, and giving the most exasperated sigh she can presently manage. “Woah, okay, I get it, I’ll take it easy. What are you doing here so early?”

Twilight’s gaze falters, and she looks down. “What do you mean why am I here, I was worried about you,” she eventually states, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I didn’t see what happened to you, the last thing I knew was you dropping like a brick and...” Twilight’s voice catches in her throat and she shuts her eyes tightly to keep the tears from flowing, yesterday’s experience still far too fresh in the young filly’s mind.

“I heard you got off without being hurt too bad.” Rainbow Dash interjects, hoping to take the other filly’s mind off of the pegasid’s injuries. “You feeling alright?”

Twilight’s expression softens, and she sits on her haunches, laying her forelimbs on the bedside. “I’m fine, nothing worse than a little bruising. Thanks to you.” She uncomfortably clears her throat. “I was up a lot earlier than you, yesterday, so my family visited me already. They want me to come home for a while but, I didn’t want to go without thanking you for...” Twilight trails off.

Rainbow Dash offers a weak smile. “Hey now, don’t sell yourself short, if it wasn’t for your brick-lobbing talents I’d be a pega-shishkebab about now.” She looks out the window, frowning. Far off in the distance, she can just barely see Cloudsdale, presently floating west towards the homesteading frontier and as such passing Canterlot by. The cloud city is presently the closest it had been since Rainbow Dash had made the journey to Canterlot. The pegasus looks up towards the ceiling, groaning, as Twilight’s mention of her family reminds Rainbow of her own. “Ugh, I guess this is going to be in the news, isn’t it? I’d better send a few letters home before everypony back in Cloudsdale hears about it and freaks out. I don’t suppose you could help? I’m not really in a condition to write.” Silently, and perhaps a bit selfishly, Rainbow Dash was glad she wouldn’t actually be present when her parents got the news.

Twilight hesitates for only a moment before nodding. “Of course, it’s the least I can do. I’ve still got a few hours before Shiny’ll be up.” That was not surprising, given how early in the morning it was; even after their conversation, the sun was still only just barely cresting over the eastern horizon. Under the watchful eye of three palace guards, the couple of ponies begin composing yet another set of letters for Rainbow Dash to send home, only two days since the first set of letters, despite it feeling as though it had been a year.

The act of writing steadied Twilight, grounded her in the present, and by the time she was on her way, she felt considerably better. Even so, it was a fragile kind of ‘okay’, one that could collapse at any moment if she so much as thought about what happened yesterday.

The unicorn and pegasus hadn’t really talked about it, not directly; all reference to the attack was just ‘yesterday’, or ‘this’, always vague nonspecific language even if it was patently obvious to all present what they meant by it. It was easier that way somehow, keeping it at hoofs length. Rainbow Dash’s letter, of course, is filled more with the pegasid’s normal bluster and self confidence than anything; It takes a moment for Twilight to realize that she's doing it on purpose, trying to downplay how terrifying it had been.

Neither of them spoke a word, not a whisper, even in the vaguest of senses, about Celestia’s involvement.

On the way out, Spike had refused to stop clinging to Rainbow Dash; reluctantly, and with the doctor’s go ahead, the two fillies agreed that Spike could stay with the pegasus for a while. It was probably better that way, anyways; the palace was more Spike’s home than House Twilight was, and both Cadance and the daycare were on hoof to look after him while Twilight recovered from her ordeal.

So it is that Twilight is left entirely alone as she walks down the hallways of the palace, face staring deeply into the details of the floor. In the middle of falling back into a downward spiral of introspection and fear, Twilight’s oncoming panic attack is suddenly halted as the unicorn, not watching where she is going, bumps directly into another pony.

“AHH!” Twilight screeches at a volume far too loud for the circumstance, and bolts backwards as if under attack, her horn lighting up without any actual target, haphazardly firing an unfocused salvo of magic beams all over just on pure instinct.

“Woah! It’s just me, Twilie!” The voice of her older brother gently reassures her, a series of familiar magenta shield panels materializing in midair to block the haphazard light-show Twilight had just let off from damaging the walls.

Twilight freezes up, eyes wide in apparent panic, before suddenly diving straight into Shining Armor’s white fur, throwing both forelegs around him and squeezing her eyes tightly shut without so much as a word. The guard cadet sighs, pulls her in closer, and gently runs a reassuring hoof down her mane. “It's alright, Twilie, it's just me. Nopony is going to hurt you. Not while I’m here.”

It takes a long moment before Twilight stops shaking enough to hesitantly pull her head back to look at Shining Armor uncertainly. The colt in question briefly gives his younger sister an affectionate nuzzle, before slowly letting her go. “Come on, it’s time we went home.”

Twilight blinks and finally opens her mouth to actually say something. “Home? You’re coming with me..?”

Shining Armor wraps one of his legs around her. “’Course, Celestia wouldn’t dream of leaving you without somepony to keep you safe at a time like this. Besides, she asked me to teach you a few tricks from guard school.” Her older brother winks at her, and Twilight’s heart soars. Even at a time like this-or maybe especially at a time like this-getting the opportunity to learn and spend time with her B.B.B.F.F was a delightful prospect.

The walk home is deeply uncomfortable for Twilight, given the eerily silent streets of the palace district that then give way to the bustle of far too many reporters and guardsponies running around immediately on the outskirts. The two had taken a circuitous route which avoided the plaza where the attack took place, but even so they merely had to step beyond the perimeter the guard had set to be immediately mobbed by reporters.

Rather than actually take the time to contend with them, Shining Armor simply grunts and projects a shield around himself and his sister to block both the reporters themselves and the clamor of their voices, before proceeding to simply plow through the crowd with brute physical force. Twilight’s eyes dart this way and that, panicked; thankfully, her older brothers efforts are not in vain, and she is able to make the journey back home without dealing with their insensitive questions; although, the same cannot be said for avoiding having her picture taken where it will surely be plastered all over the news. Twilight tries not to think about it too much.

When the siblings arrive home, Twilight is immediately swamped in a suffocating degree of attention and fretting over her well-being by both her mother and, surprisingly, her father; Celestia had given him time off as well, seemingly.

Even as studious as Twilight generally is, she does not simply sit straight down to read more out of her library as she usually does upon returning home, but instead curls up on the couch, wrapping her tail around herself in an effort to feel safe. It does not take long before Shining Armor promptly places himself down beside her, watching over her like an overzealous guard dog.

Twilight stays like that, neither moving nor responding to anypony, until it's time for lunch; finally, the prospect of food lures the filly into the dining room to sit down with her family.

After eating, she seems to finally be feeling a bit more herself, as instead of simply returning to her repose, she looks up to Shining Armor uncertainly. “What exactly did Celestia ask you to teach me..?” She asks hesitantly.

“What’s my specialty?” Shining Armor responds, flicking his eyes back towards the shield that adorns his flank. “Get ready, ‘cause you’re about to learn from the best in the shield-conjuring business.”

Twilight and Shining Armor stand in the Twilight estate courtyard, ten meters across from each other.

“For our first lesson, we’ll focus on something with broader applications in magic in general.” Shining Armor starts, immediately perking up his sister’s interest. “We’re going to focus on remote magic, which is imperative for being able to shield things away from your own body. Do you remember when I blocked your attacks no matter where they went this morning?”

Twilight nods, putting on a determined face. Something to focus on other than recent events is just what the doctor had ordered, and that ‘something’ being ‘Magic lessons from her very own B.B.B.F.F.’ is really special, so she is determined not to mess it up. “Uh-huh! Remote magic is a rare discipline focused on extending ones magic outside of their own body without spell casting, allowing yourself to treat distant locations as if they are your own body when it comes to magic use, though it has the detriment of-“

“Twilight. I think I know how remote magic works.” Shining Armor interrupts the unicorn before she can go on an even longer tangent. “Its great that you know the theory and all, but have you ever actually been able to do it?”

Twilight hesitates for a moment before shaking her head, and Shining Armor smirks. “That’s what I thought. Now, pay attention.” The stallion, without any apparent effort, ignites his horn and conjures a series of hexagonal shield panels simply hovering in the air at varying depths and distances. “The most important thing for remote magic is awareness of your surroundings. To extend your magic into the empty space, first you have to make sure your mind is extended into that space. To start with you can try reaching out with your aura, but after a while it’ll become second nature.” Shining Armor nods to Twilight. “Why don’t you try levitating, say, that ball behind you, without looking to see it?”

That was all? That would be easy. Twilight scrunches up her face and lifts any given loose object her magic can reach into the air, giving Shining Armor a smug look. Her older brother, however, seems less than impressed, and simply shakes his head.

“No, Twilight, just the ball. You need to show precision even when you’re not using any of your senses to see what you’re doing. It’s one of the first things they teach us at cadet spell craft school, maintaining awareness of everything around you with your magic without even thinking about it is imperative to honing your reflexes and abilities.” Shining Armor explains patiently. “Try again.”

Twilight frowns, disappointed in herself. “R-right!” She nods her head jerkily before drawing a line in the dirt with her hoof, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. This time, she tries to feel any objects nearby and their shapes; it isn’t too hard, as the levitation she had just performed had left enough magical traces to be felt by her. Privately, she wonders if that counts as cheating, since the ball shouldn’t have had such markers. But, she isn’t very well able to just ignore the trace so she just accepts it, and focuses her magic on the most spherical object and lifts.

“Better. But try not to pick up so much dirt, next time.” Shining Armor remarks dryly, and Twilight glances back to realize she had picked up not just the ball but the grass and dirt it was touching as well. Hastily, she drops the latter, looking a tad sheepish.

“Alright, what’s next?” Twilight asks, eager to continue. Shining Armor lays down, looking quite comfortable on the grass with the bare wisp of an amused, proud smile on his face, before nodding.

“Now, without dropping it, see if you can shield the ball there from my attacks. You can feel free to look now, since I imagine it should take you a bit of practice to get shielding it down, but eventually we’re going to want to see if you can protect it without looking.” Shining Armor states, igniting his horn and waiting for Twilight to nod that she was ready before firing off a pulsed beam of magic, too weak to cause any real damage or require any real strength to block, simply enough that she would need to focus on conjuring a shield.

Twilight’s first attempt projects a shield both around the unicorn and the ball, an elongated, lumpy, potato-shaped barrier that is less than efficient. It takes her a few attempts before she manages to actually focus her magic exclusively on that spot in space separate from her own body, shielding the ball. Three times she successfully blocks the strikes, before one time she accidentally shields her own body instead of the ball; there is a pop sound and a faint smell of smoke as a thin line of matter through the ball is charred.

Twilight flinches in fear and takes a step back, uncertainly. That smell, that scent of magical burning, it's almost like...

“Don’t worry about it. Even I didn’t get it on my first try, and this is literally what I got my cutie mark in.” Shining Armor reassures her, before she can get too lost in her thoughts. “C’mon, let’s keep going. Once you get this down we’ll see about blocking magic when you don’t know where it’s going to go preemptively.” Her brother takes up position again, and waits for Twilight to regain her composure.

Twilight takes a deep breath and settles back into a focused spellcasting stance, widening her legs and lowering her body. Shining Armor can’t help but notice that while she is in a better position for doing magic, the stance is certainly more than just for spellcraft; she looks like she’s ready to bolt in any direction, her muscles poised and ready. Seemingly, a certain cyan pegasus had had a particular influence on her. Shrugging, Shining Armor ignites his horn once more, and the pair return to their practice.

Author's Note

Heck, is it time for this chapter already..? I'm still working on restructuring the several arcs that come after this chapter, so this is the last one I have ready to go at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything sorted by next chapter-posting-time but, there is a possibility that there may be a delay on the next chapter. It's not that I'm out of backlog (Still have four written chapters), so much as I have several different things happening at once and am not sure which order they should be in the story in.

Hope y'all like it!