Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived two sisters...one, the elder, who controlled the sun, and another, the younger who controlled the moon. They lived together in perfect harmony, and so in turn, so did the ponies of their kingdom.
But the forces of chaos and darkness worked tirelessly to undermine the joyous peace that the sisters had created...but with their combined magical might, the princess of the sun and the princess of the moon defended freedom and happiness for centuries...until one dark day, the younger sister could no longer bare the pressures of her responsibility, and descended into madness, never to be heard from again.
The loss of her sister wounded the sun princess deeply...but her loving subjects were quick to rush to help her defend the kingdom in times of need.
And so, many great and legendary heroes rose up to defend Equestria from evil. A young pegasus named Firefly and her unicorn friend, Twilight Twinkle, lead the fight against an evil creature named Tirak, and stopped him from unleashing a terrible curse, the Rainbow of Darkness on this land. Their legacy would live on in the hearts and minds of ponies forever onwards.
"...A legacy that would come full circle with a new generation of heroes." a pink pegasus pony named Firefly read aloud at the end of the passage. She closed the book, entitled "Legends of Equestria" and picked up her documents, examining them with concern.
Firefly was sitting in the lounge room of a large, spartan building, the headquarters of the Wonderbolts, a group of flying ponies renowned across Equestria. The pink pony was wearing tight one-piece uniform of light, sky blue with light yellow lightning patterns across it. She was sitting waiting for her fellow members of the Wonderbolts to arrive.
A white furred pony with curly blond hair walked in excitedly into the lounge room, wearing the same uniform as Firefly.
"Hiya Firefly! Guess I'm here early, but I'm sure the other 'Bolts will be here in a jiff!"
"Oh, Surprise... you surprised me again, heh..." Firefly chuckled, her face quickly turning grave.
Surprise smiled joyfully as her friend laughed, but then her expression quickly turned neutral as Firefly became so obviously serious.
"Listen, it doesn't matter. It's probably best I just tell you actually..." Firefly took a deep breath. "I have the papers here. From the orphanage. I've decided to go ahead and adopt a filly right now. So it looks like I won't be able to stay on board after all. I'd better hand in my resignation. I'm sorry, Surprise. I've... got another job to do." Firefly looked at her friend sadly, carefully watching for her reaction. The two were old, old friends and while a decision like this didn't technically mean goodbye, it meant the end of a long and exciting life together. "I'll miss you."
Her eyes, and indeed her whole face were completely immobile as she listened to Firefly explaining the decision that she had made. She looked at the floor for a minute, thinking, then slowly smiled, walked up to her old buddy, and hugged her tight. "I'll...miss you too. But...somehow....I know this is where you need to be right now. It's...going to be a lot...different around here without you, but I'll...try and hold down the fort. Don't worry too much about me, 'kay Firefly? I'm always smiling...that's what I do."
Firefly returned the hug softly.
"Thanks, Surprise. Look out for Spitfire and Soarin, wont'cha? They seem like pretty promising foals. Might even take your job one day. You're the Captain now, Surprise. It's all in here, along with my resignation. My last official act, I suppose." Firefly stopped talking, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'll... be seeing you."
Surprise blinked her eyes as she tried not to cry, gave Firefly a smile, nodded gently to her. "Catch you 'round pal. Before you go, though...what's your new kid, like, anyway? Heh...must be somepony special."
"Oh yeah, pretty special... she's a survivor." Firefly responded, pulling out her documents for the adopted filly. A picture displayed a tiny light blue-colored filly with a mane and tail that made a full rainbow, all six colors. The warm colors of her mane on the top of her head in a straight, spiky set of bangs, and the cool colors going down her back. "Her name's Rainbow Dash."
In a Canterlot hospital room, a pink unicorn with white and purple stripes in her hair rested peacefully in her bed.
"It certainly is quiet around here," Twilight Twinkle mused to herself as she listened to the beeps of the equipment around her.
"Well, it wasn't when you were having the foal," a male voice playfully mentioned with a chuckle.
"Oh, Moonshine, it's you!" Twilight said in surprise as she turned her head toward the door, noticing the familiar dark blue fur, and even darker blue hair of her husband.
"You scream a lot louder than I thought, Twi." Moonshine said with a soft smirk as he approached his wife.
"Well, maybe next time, you'll have the baby, and I'll watch," Twilight said with faux anger as she rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. She then looked curiously back to her husband's strong, yet almost impossibly gentle eyes. "Um...so, did the nurse bring-"
A small newborn was brought around from behind Moonshine with a dark blue aura, sleeping contently. The fur on her face was a deep purple, and black and pink streaks were noticeable in what little hair she had on her head.
Twilight stared in surprise, then laughed softly. "You and your tricks. You're not some kind of great and powerful magician, you know," Twilight remarked with a smirk.
"Doesn't mean I can't dream!" Moonshine said with a laugh, gently using his psychic energy to place the baby girl into Twilight's waiting arms.
"...She's beautiful," Twilight said in awe, rocking the child softly. "She looks..."
"...a lot like you?" Moonshine said as she walked up closer to the bed, smiling excitedly.
"...yes." Twilight said with a blush. "She'll be...Twilight...Twilight something. Do you have anything?"
"Uh...not really." Moonshine said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I really don't know what would go well with 'Twilight' besides 'Twinkle.' "
"Sparkle!" came a tiny voice from behind them. A young colt, only a few years old. His fur was white and his mane was blue, two distinct shades, one much lighter and more vibrant than the other. He was playing with a shiny plastic toy when he noticed Moonshine's psychic energy, calling out in recognition. "Sparkle!"
Moonshine turned to look at the source of the voice, noticing his son Shining Armor playing happily right where he'd left him. Twilight looked in the same direction, just as surprised as her husband.
"You know Moony...maybe Shining has a point."
"Um...I don't follow." Moonshine said, rubbing the back of his head again. "I mean, it's cute, but...what are we meant to get from baby talk?"
"You're being too literally minded, silly," Twilight said with a giggle. "If our son shines, maybe our daughter...sparkles. What do you think, Moony?"
"Well...'Twilight Sparkle' does have a certain ring to it." Moonshine said, laughing and admiring both of his children as he looked back and forth between them.
"Then it's settled. Welcome to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle. I've a lot of great times here...I hope you do too," Twilight said gently to her young sleeping foal over resting her against her cheek.
Years later, Twilight Sparkle found herself among a huge throng at the Summer Sun Celebration, a long honored tradition in Canterlot. She'd traveled there with her parents and older brother, all of whom had been there before, and who had tried to describe what the event was like to her, but each of whom also noted that she wouldn't be able to fully understand it until she saw it herself. After a spending the night playing at a few hours of rides, games, and snacks, the family made it to the sacred shrine where Princess Celestia herself was scheduled to make an appearance. The three year old was excited at the chance to finally see the ruler of the entire country in person....she wonder if she would be anything like the stories she had heard about her, and the pictures she had seen of her.
The young filly walked eagerly between the legs of the other ponies present, bumping into some of them by accident, who gave her somewhat annoyed glares, but managed to avoid causing much of a commotion due to her small size. Finally, she could see the shrine right in front of her, the flight of stairs leading to it right in front of her eager, beaming face.
With a loud swoosh of the wind, a tall mare with a muscular build and tremendous white feathered wings descended from the sky, landing with perfect grace. Her horn was much longer than any that Sparkle had ever seen, and the mare's entire body, from her mane, to her fur coat, was overflowing with some sort of mystical light...indeed, her body seem to shine brighter than the small pieces of royal armor she had donned. Something about this strange mare filled Sparkle with a deep sense of comfort and safety...bizarrely, it was even beyond that she had felt around her family.
Before Sparkle could even think another thought, the beautiful lady rose to her back legs, raised up her arms, and took wing...her horn, her front hooves, and wings all seemed to burst into flames...and, after a few moments which seemed to Twilight Sparkle's young mind to be days, the sun had been raised up, and the night put to rest once more. Sparkle could only continue to stare in awe, truly understanding for the first time why everypony put so much trust in Princess Celestia.
After returning home and taking long naps until early evening, the Twilight household was once again full of lively, wide awake ponies. Moonshine was hard at work planning dinner, having donned his trusty apron early, while the rest of the family was relaxing in the living room, Twilight Twinkle sitting on one side of the couch, Shining Armor sitting on the other side of it, and Sparkle hopping around the floor like a caffeinated rabbit.
"Princess Celestia is so awesome and magical and pretty, and, and-wow!" Twilight Sparkle sputtered out, before, much to her mother's surprise, leaping into Twilight Twinkle's lap.
"Oof! Twi, I'm glad you're excited, but it wouldn't kill you to give me some warning, would it?" Twinkle said gently but slightly exasperated.
"Hee hee, sorry Mum!" Sparkle apologized quickly, her cheerful demeanor and rambunctious energy still intact.
"Why are so jumpy, anyway, champ? I've never seen anypony this crazy about the Princess," Twinkle said, smirking a little as she ruffled her daughter's hair.
"Never?" Sparkle said simply, tilting her head, and getting a wide eyed, curious look on her face, her manic energy starting to subside.
"Well...maybe not never," Twinkle said with a rub of the back of her head. "You remind me of when I was your...no wait, you remind me of when I was a lot older than you. There was a time I really wished I could live with the Princess, learn all kinds of things from her?"
"What happened, Mummy?" Sparkle said, frowning, starting to feel sorry for her mother.
Twinkle just chuckle softly, ruffling Sparkle's hair again. "That's a story for another time Twi. But in the meantime...why don't we...talk more about what you feel? What you want?"
Sparkle began to smile happily, remembering how excited the Princess had made her. "I wanna study real hard! About...magic and stuff! Wanna be more like the Princess! Wanna remind you of the Princess like you remind me of her, Mummy!"
Twinkle stared for a moment, baffled that Sparkle would be as interested in such things as she once was. She tried to remember what had even gotten her chasing such crazy dreams, so long ago...and noticed her son beside her, flying a pink plastic figurine of a pink furred, blue haired pegasus around in his hoof.
Smiling to herself, trying to avoid crying in joyful memory in front of her children, Twinkle turned her gazed down at Sparkle, and ruffled her hair again, chuckling softly. "You'll get all the books about magic you want, Twi. From one Twilight to another...I think you'll go places."
Twilight giggled to herself, and buried her head in her mother's tummy, wondering what secrets she would soon discover.
A few more years passed. In Cloudsdale, standing atop a high cloud hill, Fluttershy tried desperately to leap through rings of water vapor that were much too high for her skinny legs and underdeveloped wings to reach. Eventually, though, she managed to leap through one...but fell quickly as she passed through, sliding down the slope, and crashing into a nearby flag.
As she struggled to escape the flag cloth she'd been tangled in, she heard too voices laughing at her from above.
"Nice going, Klutzershy! They oughta ground you permanently," a dark brown furred pegasus colt with light brown hair taunted as he landed.
"Ha ha, my baby brother can fly better than you," another pegasus colt with light brown fur and dark brown hair laughed as he landed beside his partner.
Out of nowhere, a streak of rainbow flew across the sky above Cloudsdale.
Fluttershy, tossing the flag off her at last, quivered at the taunts of the bullies...but seeing the many colors of light in the sky, she smiled and hoped that they meant that a friend of hers would be arriving soon.
Meanwhile, in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle walked through the cold air of the spacious classroom, walking nervously towards the "dragon egg" that the instructors had mentioned. She felt better knowing that Twilight Twinkle and Moonshine were there to support her, but, even with all the vast knowledge she had acquired, she wasn't sure she'd be able to put that knowledge into action. She concentrated as much power as she could into her horn as she reached the egg, hoping for the best.
"Hey, leave her alone!" came a familiar squeaky voice behind Fluttershy as a light blue pegasus filly swooped down and stepped in front of her friend.
"What are you gonna do, call your mommy?" The lighter furred colt said with a laugh.
"Yeah, I hear she dropped out of the Wonderbolts 'cause she was a wimp who couldn't take the heat!" The darker furred colt added with a sneer.
Rainbow sneered quietly to herself, thinking If only you knew... she stood strongly and proudly, staring at them with intensity.
"My mom is a great pony!" she squeaked angrily.
"Oh yeah? It's not like you have anything to prove it," the darker furred pegasus said with a scowl as his lighter furred friend stuck his tongue out at Rainbow.
"Sure I do! She's still a great flyer, she taught me everything I know!" came Rainbow's response. She thought for a second, coming up with a plan. "In fact... I can prove to you that Firefly's a great pony by beating you two in a race! That's something she used to do in the Wonderbolts, right?"
"Hah, piece of cake, you're just going to face plant, anyway," the darker furred colt said.
"I can't wait to see ya crash, heh heh," chuckled the lighter furred colt.
"Not this time!" Rainbow told them enthusiastically.
Fluttershy looked timidly from Rainbow, to the bullies, and back again. She wasn't sure if Rainbow could beat those two, as they seemed very strong to her, but she made her mind that she would have faith in her friend.
It wasn't long until the two colt bullies stood beside Rainbow on a large cloud that had a quickly drawn "Start" banner hanging over it across two wooden pools. Several flags were placed in the surrounding clouds, as a few other bystanders sat among them, ready to witness the race. Rainbow stood at the starting line, between the two colts, her eyes on the path ahead.
"You're going down," the lighter furred colt, standing right next to Rainbow, said as he raised a front hoof and pointed it at her.
"In history, maybe!" Rainbow exclaimed back at him, before taking on a soft, but confident tone as she looked ahead. "Just like you, mom...!"
Fluttershy had been given the honor of holding the checkered flag, and, after a few moments that she'd given the competitors to get ready, she took the long pole she held in her mouth and waved it, hoping whatever fate had in store was something pleasant. The colts began to fly off, thinking that they had won the race already. Fluttershy noticed them flying perilously close to her and was suddenly extremely worried for her safety.
Rainbow flew along the track, noticing Fluttershy and carefully dodging her, unaware of a strong gust of wind she had whipped up behind her.
"Wa-aah!" Fluttershy cried out as she was pushed off of the cloud by the gust, screaming in panic and confusion as she fell.
Not noticing her friend, Rainbow tore ahead, her thoughts on how to win the race and beat her two rivals, competing for Fluttershy's - and her mother's honor.
In a stroke of luck, for Rainbow, anyway, the darker furred colt slammed right into a marble pillar, crashing his head through it and passing out. The lighter furred colt was still gaining on Rainbow, however.
Almost distracted by a sense of victory and wanting to snicker at her opponent's defeat, Rainbow kept her eyes on the race, not wavering for a second. She had to go faster.
Suddenly something slammed into her from the side. The lighter furred colt made a mock salute and laughed at Rainbow. "See you later, Rainbow Crash!"
Stopped in her tracks, all Rainbow could pay attention to was the overly cocky, arrogant colt flying ahead. Anger grew in the pegasus filly.
"Hey!" she called out furiously, but he was already out of earshot. She charged ahead, flying as fast as she could take off, her wings beating strongly but steadily. She could see the light brown colt getting closer and closer, as a white hoop that completed the racecourse got closer and closer. She tore through, the wind swirling around her, thinking of her mother and the great flyer she promised she'd be. She could see the colt start to get so close that she could overtake him, but it wasn't enough. Beating one pony wasn't enough for her. She wanted to prove that she was the fastest flyer ever, and nothing was going to stop her.
The colt tried to attack her again, aiming at her side. He felt like something was off, something was different about her, but charged ahead anyway, quickly feeling, once again, like he had nothing to worry about at all.
Something seemed to posess the rainbow filly as she charged forth. As soon as he was close by, she hit back at him, nudging firmly. Behind her, a multicolored rainbow trail was growing stronger and more visible with each passing second, as she turned her attention away from him and shot through the hoop like a dart.
BAAANNNGGG!!!
The next thing Rainbow knew was she was propelled upwards, an explosion behind her had engulfed the hoop and she was flying as fast as possible away from it, high up into the stratosphere. The sense of speed was amazing, and she swore she never flew so fast in all her life. She grinned, finally content that the deed was done. Mane and tail melted into one as the rainbow trail behind her seemed to become her, a colorful aura emanating from her body.
"I'm sorry for wasting your time," Twilight Sparkle said sadly, staring at the ground in defeat. About ten seconds later, an enormous explosion of sound filled her ears, and she felt a strange energy from colorful light that had just appeared outside. The intense fear at what had just happened sent her hold body into a sudden shock, causing it to float in the air, and her eyes to glow...and as her body floated there, Sparkle saw everypony in the room hit by waves of energy that transformed them into potted cacti...could she really be the one doing this, she thought to herself...or was she dreaming?
Nearby, in Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia ran to a window in deep surprise, seeing a rainbow colored wave soar through the sky, and a faint white light coming from the School For Gifted Unicorns...followed by the neck of a huge purple dragon popping out of the roof of the school's ceiling. She had predicted something special happening on this day, but she was still amazed at the power of the forces she was witnessing.
Between Canterlot and Clousdale, a large, black cloud hang over the pegasus city as it grew larger and blacker, producing bolts of lightning and thunder as it rained over everything below. The unexpected weather, previously only a drizzle of rain during the race, swelled into a mighty storm, catching Rainbow off guard and lost in the dark. She found herself inside a giant black cloud, unable to see, and flew around looking for a way back. A huge bolt of lightning struck right in front of her, and terrified, she zoomed off in the opposite direction, her heart racing. She could barely see a light beyond the great big darkness she was stuck in, and made her way towards that. Another bolt of lightning got in her way, dodging it just in time, increasing her frantic desire to get away from the storm. She flew as fast as she could, never losing sight of that one bright spark of light ahead of her. It kept coming closer, and closer, and closer, slowly getting brighter still. In her terror, she suddenly worried it was another threat, but at the same time she felt the storm and crackles of lightning getting further away. But somehow, she sensed it closing in on her as well, like a living organism intent on chasing her. The light ahead was the only thing that could lead to safety. She followed it as fast as she could go, until she hit something hard.
SMASH!
Thousands of tiny pieces of glass shattered as the rainbow pony flew through a window, into a room where Rainbow crashed right into the far wall, sliding down to the ground. Her head throbbed and ached, and she could see a trickle of blood from her cranium, but somehow she felt alright. The pain was numb, and the storm had suddenly retreated. All that concerned her now was a bright light in the center of the room, which she also noticed was decorated with potted cacti. The light was pony-shaped, and in the middle she could see purple fur. She edged closer towards it, slowly and carefully, as her heart continued to beat wildly with fear.
"H-hello?" she called out to the stranger. "Anypony in there? What's happened?" she came closer and closer, something in her mind telling her to touch it. She reached out with a hoof and put it against the aura.
A blast knocked her back, landing her on the floor with a sharp thud. Weakly, she picked herself up, her eyes glowing white, and walked calmly towards it, as though some force was holding her hand and guiding her towards it. She reached her arm inside and touched the pony on the shoulder, rubbing it softly.
"H-huh?" the pony stammered out, still barely aware, but seemingly brought ever so slightly back to consciousness by Rainbow's touch.
The light around the purple pony disappeared, revealing Twilight Sparkle inside. Both ponies suddenly lost the light in their eyes, and dropped to the floor. This time Rainbow wasn't going to be caught off guard, and landed herself as smoothly as she could. But the purple pony lay there, her legs spread. Rainbow Dash looked at her quizzically, but concerned. She wondered if the storm she just got caught in while racing, and the explosion, were both her fault, but dismissed the idea and waited to find anything out.
"Are you alright...?"
"I...uh...I think so," Twilight Sparkle said, rubbing her head nervously as she rose to her back legs, standing upright. "Th-thanks...um...whoever you are," she said with a blush.
"I'm Rainbow Dash." the pegasus introduced herself clearly. "I was just in a race when I heard this explosion, and there was a storm, and I couldn't get out, so I followed this light and I crash landed here. Any idea what that's about?"
Sparkle looked left, then right, then smiled with a deep blush at Rainbow Dash. "I...um...well, the light was...me. I think, anyway. I...seem to have had an accident."
Sitting on the floor, Rainbow simply looked out the broken window and listened to the storm in the distance. She rubbed her cheeks, feeling something on them, like paint.
"I wish I knew what was going on..." she said, slightly irritably. Her head still hurt from the crash.
Twilight Sparkle looked around the room curiously, amazed that all the cacti, including her parents were ponies again. Even the dragon had returned to normal size.
"What is going on in here?" Princess Celestia shouted in shock as she trotted past the many bewildered ponies in the room. Reaching the center of the room, she stared at the recently hatched dragon sucking on its tail, and then down at the two fillies on the cold floor. Suddenly everything was starting to make sense...she could feel the same energies she felt back at the castle from these two young fillies.
"Well, what do we have here?" Princess Celestia said in a matter of fact fashion, barely a bit of emotion escaping her lips as she looked at the cyan filly, noticing the strange purple markings on her face, then to the obviously embarrassed looking purple filly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that-" Twilight Sparkle sputtered out.
"W-what did she do?" Rainbow piped up, a look of shock on her face. From the looks of things, she felt like the two of them were in serious trouble and suddenly wished she had something more dignified to say.
Celestia's face looked worried for a moment, suddenly realizing she'd frightened the children in her haste. She then smiled gently down at the fillies. "Fear not, children. You have committed no crime. In fact, the two of you have shown the most raw magical talent of anypony your age that I ever seen. "
"That's...good?" Sparkle said timidly.
Celestia nodded, her soft, benevolent grin still wide. "Indeed it is, Twilight Sparkle. Wouldn't you agree...Rainbow Dash?" Celestia turned her grin and her gaze down at the cyan pegasus.
"I still consider your mother a dear friend, Rainbow," Celestia said with a chuckle, leading down to nuzzle the cyan pegasus face gently. Twilight, meanwhile, simply stared in awe at the Princess.
Surprised and unsure what to say, Rainbow simply looked towards the window, thinking about how she got there.
"I'm only here because of a light." She explained. "I was in the middle of a race when the storm happened, and I got caught in the middle of it. I followed a light until it lead me here." she looked back up at the Princess. "Maybe it's fate or something, you know?"
Celestia looked out the window for a moment, calmly thinking to herself, remembering that she had seen a light coming from the school, but it had been very faint, due to the sheer distance between Canterlot and the building the princess now stood in. She then looked down at Rainbow and smiled once more. "You show wisdom beyond your years, Rainbow Dash. I know not what these events mean, but I do know that you are correct...fate has guided you here." She then walked over to the staring, confused Twilight and nuzzled her cheek. "And fate has also chosen you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight's jaw drop as she stared into the princess' eyes, having no idea what to say.
Celestia simply gave a soft laugh as she pulled her neck back. "How would both of you like to my personal proteges? I can feel incredible power and potential from each of you, but it can only be tamed through focused study."
Rainbow's eyes went wide and lit up with excitement, before returning to normal a second later.
"That sounds... like an amazing offer, but what will it mean? Does it mean moving away from Cloudsdale for good?" She turned, looking out the broken window again with worry on her face. Not only for herself and her future, but for those she had just left behind as well.
"I understand your concerns, my little pony, but fret not...even with the intensity of your studies, there will be time for home and family."
Rainbow looked at her and Twilight hopefully. It sounded like an exciting proposition, a new friend, a new city and the chance to learn everything there was to know about pony magic, and explore her own potential.
Almost on cue, she felt a warm feeling on her flank as something flashed into existence. Rainbow quickly turned around to look at behind, noticing a grey stormcloud and a red, yellow and blue stripe, zig-zagging down her flank.
"My cutie mark..." she gasped. She turned her attention over to Twilight.
"Hmm...it seems you two are growing up quickly," Celestia remarked, gazing down at the fillies with a warm feeling of joy.
"What about yours? Did you get yours too?" Rainbow asked the purple unicorn beside her.
Twilight looked down at her flank, and her eyes beheld a pinkish red star, with six points, and with white points in between. Around the star were smaller white stars. She gasped in surprise excitement. "I did, I did, I did!" Twilight cried out before hugging the blue filly beside her spontaneously.
"That's so cool!" Rainbow exclaimed happily, returning her newfound friend's hug, and looking at her cutie mark.
"I guess you're good at magic, huh? That's what your cutie mark is for."
Twilight nuzzled back with a giggle, before looking back at her flank. "Huh...wow, you're right, it is a magic cutie mark! It's so pretty...it even looks a lot like my mom's cutie mark too!"
Twilight looked curiously at Rainbow's face, noticing, for the first time, that there were purple streaks on them. "I've never seen marks like that on a pony's face before...what do they mean?" Twilight asked, staring at the markings with a tilt of her head.
"I have marks on my face?" Rainbow rubbed at her cheeks. The purple streaks seemed to dissolve like sugar in water, and disappeared.
"Wah? Th-they're gone!" Twilight stammered out in astonishment.
Rainbow rubbed them again in confusion.
"What the hay...?"
A moment later, the three streaks on either side magically reappeared on her cheeks, glistening purple.
"They're back!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile. "I'm glad they are...I don't quite know why, but the look really good on you, to me."
"Why's that?" Rainbow asked, unaware of what they looked like or even what color they were.
Twilight smiled a little wider, but with a deep blush. "Well...to be honest, they look kinda like my fur. And...that color really...seems to go with your fur coat."
Rainbow thought about it for a moment, looking for something to view her reflection in. She decided it could wait until later to check them out.
A moment later, a familiar pony swooped into view from the broken window. Firefly landed with urgency, noticing the Princess and her daughter, and breathing a sight of relief.
"Rainbow, you're safe!" she smiled. She turned to the princess, her face and voice becoming grave. "Your majesty, the storm cloud outside is engulfing Cloudsdale. Everypony is in danger, we need to get them to safety!"
Celestia stood with her mouth agape as she listened to Firefly's report, then nodded to her solemnly, before looking down at Rainbow and Twilight sadly.
"I am truly sorry...You both look eager to help, but this disaster would be too much for you to bear at your current level of experience. You will be safe in Canterlot...Firefly and I will work as quickly as we can to evacuate everypony from Cloudsdale."
Rainbow nodded, wishing she could help but unwilling to let herself be caught in that storm again without a way out this time.
"I see you've made a new friend, Rainbow. See you when I get back, okay?"
Twilight blushed deeply, not having expected to get attention from this new pony who had just arrived.
"See you when I see you!" came Rainbow's response. Firefly simply nodded her acknowledgement and followed Celestia out, both ponies taking wing and flying in the direction of the storm. Rainbow watched with awe at the majestic way that the Princess' wings folded out and flapped in the open air. She stood watching them take off, quietly staring into the distance. She couldn't see Cloudsdale, only a mass of grey fog and sparks of lightning.
Twilight also stood mesmerized by the Princess' wings, but snapped back to reality as she too began to focus on the chaotic mass engulfing Cloudsdale. "I...I hope everypony will be okay," Twilight stammered out. She then looked over at Rainbow's flank curiously. "Hey, you know...I think that pink pegasus lady had lightning on her flank, too!"
"You're right... fast as lightning... that's what it's supposed to mean. And when she manages to fly fast enough, she creates a kind of lightning, and glows. I think that's what my special talent means. If I fly fast enough, it creates rainbows. I got here before Firefly did, and it all seemed to happen so soon... I think my special talent is speed, and somehow that speed creates rainbows!"
Twilight giggled softly, hopping up and down. "Speedy rainbows! I like that! You're the first pony I've ever heard of that could make a rainbow on their own before!"
"Me too." Rainbow nodded.
Just then, Twilight felt two pairs of arms and hooves around her.
"Great going, champ," Twilight Twinkle said cheerfully, congratulating her daughter.
"I didn't doubt you for a moment," Moonshine said calmly.
"Not even for a moment?" Twinkle remarked with a smirk.
"Uh...well, maybe just one," Moonshine said with a rub behind his head before laughing together with his wife.
"Mummy...Daddy...this is all so exciting!" Sparkle exclaimed, before remembering Rainbow. "Oh, uh...Rainbow Dash, this is my daddy, Moonshine, and my mummy, Twinkle, the first Twilight!"
"Twilight Twinkle...?" Rainbow looked at her quizzically. "You look familiar. I think Firefly showed me a photo with the two of you together."
Twinkle tilted her head curiously as she and her husband stepped down from embracing their daughter, and Twinkle walked closer to Rainbow. "...you...she showed you...it all makes sense. I can't believe I didn't remember your name! You're Firefly's girl, the daughter she wrote to me about!"
Rainbow nodded. "You and Firefly are friends since childhood, right?"
Twinkle nodded, smirking playfully. "We had a lot of crazy times together."
Rainbow grabbed Twilight's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek softly.
"Woah!" Twilight shouted as she felt her shoulder being tugged, nuzzling her new friend back.
"I hope we do too, it'll be like mother, like daughter!" laughed Rainbow Dash.
"Well I...guess the more things change, the more things stay the same!" chuckled Twilight Sparkle.
Rainbow looked out at the open sky. The storm had finally passed, and beams of sunlight had started to penetrate the dark, stormy cloud. A rainbow formed around where Cloudsdale once stood, now a series of smaller clouds and ruined buildings, but with no sign of habitation. It felt terribly ironic, a symbol of hope and life after such a devastating disaster. She then turned around and looked at her flank, and the brand new cutie mark that adorned it, being a multicolored lightning bolt coming out of a grey stormcloud.
"I wonder.... I hope all this wasn't my fault. I guess we'll find out when things clear up."
Arm around her new friend, Rainbow stared out at the faraway rainbow with Twilight at her side. Hard as it was to imagine the possibilities of the new future that awaited them, it felt like the beginning of something special.
