“Horseshoe Bay is simply lovely this time of year.”

Twilight nodded in agreement with Rarity as she and her friends took in the sights of Equestria’s number one vacationing hotspot, Horseshoe Bay. Warm sun, warm beaches, clear skies, luxury resorts and fun parks for the little ones. Horseshoe Bay had it all and more.

“I’m just so glad we can go somewhere without it becoming a big adventure or a national crisis,” Twilight said, her friends agreeing with her.

Suddenly, an explosion behind them took the group by surprise and they turned around to find a shadowy figure standing on a tall pedestal, laughing maniacally as smoke rose from the ground and ponies fled the scene screaming in terror. “Soon! Equestria shall be MINE! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Twilight jolted upright and gasped. She then realised that she was sitting on her towel at the beach and with Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders building a sandcastle beside her. “Oh.” Twilight let out a breath and wiped the sweat from her brow. “It was just a dream, huh? Well that’s good.” ‘And a little cliché, but I’m not complaining.’

“Oh, Twilight! You’re awake!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “That’s good! We need you to help us build our sandcastle!”

Twilight examined the current castle-in-progress. “It looks fine to me,” she said.

“Yeah, but we want it ta be accurate,” Apple Bloom explained.

“And we figured you’d, y’know, know exactly what a castle looks like, being a bookworm and all,” Scootaloo added, bringing a frown to Twilight’s face.

“Just because I read a lot, doesn’t mean I remember everything I see in a book perfectly. Nor does it mean I read books on every topic out there.”

“So you’re saying you don’t know anything about castles?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“… Well, I do know a bit about castles. How they’re built. The kinds of rooms they have. The defences that are in place and the secret chambers.” Twilight cleared her throat. “But that still doesn’t mean you can just assume things! By the way, where are the others?” Looking around, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that none of their other friends seemed to be present.

“Rarity hurt her hoof playing beach volleyball with Trixie, Dash and Applejack.”

Twilight looked concerned, but also confused. “Playing beach volleyball?”

“She was playin’ with three of the most competitive ponies in Equestria,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Fair point. And Fluttershy?”

Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin. “Now that you mention it, where is Fluttershy?” With a shrug, Pinkie returned to building her sandcastle. “Eh, she’s a grown filly. I’m sure she can handle herself, or at least give a Fluttershyery scream if something’s wrong.”

“A ‘Fluttershyery scream’?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It’s like this reeeeeeally high-pitched scream that ponies can’t normally hear! That’s why when she gets scared her mouth opens but no noise comes out!”

“Pinkie Pie, that’s not how ponies work,” Twilight said. “And even if it was, how would you be able to hear a ‘Fluttershyery scream’ if it’s a pitch you can’t register?”

“Oh, I can hear it just fine!” Pinkie said with a smile. “My ears are special!”

“Everything about you is ‘special’,” Twilight muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“Awww, thank you! Now, let’s dig out this moat!” Pinkie Pie stuck her nose into the sand and began to circle the castle, creating a deep trench that surrounded their creation.

Meanwhile, Twilight levitated her bottle of sunscreen and applied some to her legs and chest. “Hey, Pinkie, could you get my back for me?” she asked, only to find that Pinkie was checking her blueprints and construction a miniature scaffold at the castle’s main gate.

“Ooh, we can get that!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

“Yeah, we’ll be happy to help!” Sweetie Belle added.

Twilight smiled and lay down onto her front. “Okay, but just make sure you don’t add too little or too much. I don’t want any part of my back being more or less tanned than the rest.”

“Leave it to us!” Apple Bloom said as she grabbed the bottle of lotion with such force that the lotion squirted out of the top.

“Man, even the food here’s great!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she took another greedy bite out of her ice-cream, leaving a small white spot on the corner of her mouth.

“You don’t say. Perhaps you shouldn’t try to advertise everything you eat, though,” Trixie retorted as she leaned forward and licked the ice-cream from Rainbow’s face, too fast for the other mare to pull back. “Mm. It is good.”

“If’n you two are quite finished, can we get goin’ already?” Applejack asked with a frown as she sat at the table beside Rainbow Dash and Trixie with Rarity, gently massaging her partner’s bandaged hoof.

“What’s the hurry? We’re on vacay, after all.”

“Ah hate fancy places like this,” Applejack said, her eyes shifting about at the room with all of the formally-dressed ponies walking around and chatting whilst eating tiny portions of food from smartly-dressed waiters. “It reminds me too much of when ah was stayin’ with mah aunt and uncle in Manehatten. An’ those are days ah don’t care to remember.” Applejack shuddered as the thought crossed her mind.

“You didn’t mind all those fancy parties in Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Those are different kinds of fancy. Canterlot fancy ah can stand, but this is like Manehatten fancy an’ it just don’t sit right with me.”

“Dear Applejack here is just shy,” Rarity explained, reaching across the table with her good hoof and pinching Applejack’s cheek. “I think it’s cute,” she added with a grin.

“Ah ain’t shy!” Applejack protested as she pulled her face away. “It’s like how Trixie’s okay with small bolts of lightnin’, but huge ones terrify her!”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Trixie reached over to Applejack and slammed her hooves over the farmer’s mouth, looking around quickly to make sure that nopony had heard. “Do you intend to broadcast Trixie’s weaknesses to the entire world?!” she whispered.

“It’s not exactly much of a secret anymore, darling,” Rarity said. “Not since Rainbow Dash surprised all of Ponyville by forgetting to inform us of that thunderstorm.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I didn’t forget. I just left it ‘til the last minute. Anyway, I don’t regret it.” Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Trixie and pulled the showmare backwards towards herself. “You should’ve seen Trixie all curled up like that! It was so awesome!”

Trixie’s face brightened as she slipped out of Rainbow’s hold. “Trixie was not curled up like some helpless kitten!”

“Actually, you were. I got it all on tape.”

Trixie’s ear’s flattened. “Y-You did?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “W-Why would you-”

“Oh, this I must see!” Rarity said, her eyes beaming.

“Usually, ah respect a pony’s privacy.” A grin crossed Applejack’s face. “But after what she pulled last week, ah’m all for seein’ that tape.”

“What she did last week?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Applejack, Applejack, come quick!” Trixie shouted as she rushed to the farmer’s side. “Rarity’s in trouble! She needs your help in the town square!”

“What?! Hang on Rarity! Ah’ma comin’!”

Trixie waited until Applejack was gone, and then she turned to the stacks of cider barrels that Applejack had left behind with a glint in her eye.

“I can’t believe it!” Rainbow Dash shouted to a pouting Trixie. “You didn’t cut me in on your little scheme?!”

“That’s not the point,” Applejack said with a disapproving frown.

“What’s the big deal?” Trixie asked. “Trixie only took, like, half of a barrel. If even that.”

Rarity quickly moved herself in-between the two mares. “Girls, please. Can this not wait until another day?” She turned to Applejack and said, “Applejack dear, how about we go and take a look at the rodeo restaurant on the other end of the resort?”

Applejack’s ears perked up and she looked at Rarity excitedly. “Are ya sure?”

“Of course. You’ve been so patient with my own desires today that I feel it’s the least I can do.” Rarity lowered her eyelids in a seductive manner and added, “Besides, you might learn a thing or two for the bedroom.”

“You two can go have fun with that,” Rainbow Dash said as she finished her ice-cream. “Me and Trix were gonna go check out the airship tour.”

“You mean that one stickin’ outta the ocean?” Applejack asked.

“That’s the one,” Trixie confirmed. “It’s the remnants of an airship that crash-landed almost two hundred years ago, with an undersea aquarium attached to the cockpit.”

Applejack gave an appreciative whistle. “Sounds like fun, but ah think ah’d rather stick with dry land. Fish just freak me out.”

“Suit yourself,” Rainbow Dash said as she and Trixie both rose to their hooves. “Catch ya later, you two.”

“Try to behave yourselves, you two,” Trixie said with a wink.

“That should be our line,” Applejack retorted. She watched the two leave before turning to Rarity. “Can ya believe they’re still together after all this time?”

“Indeed. It certainly seems as though their relationship is moving on rather nicely,” Rarity replied, Applejack nodding her head in agreement. “Why, at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them proposed anytime soon.” Rarity grinned as she leaned closer to Applejack, whose entire coat shivered as her body stiffened.

“… W-We should get goin’, too, if we wanna get ta the restaurant before it starts fillin’ up!” Applejack quickly vacated her seat and moved around the table, pulling out Rarity’s chair and assisting her marefriend to her hooves.

Rarity simply sighed as was escorted away from the small seating area. ‘One of these days she’s going to cave-in… I hope…’

“Now, if you’ll all follow me, I’ll show you the room where the ship’s officers would gather for private meetings. Please mind your head as the doorways are quite low.” The tour guide moved onwards with everypony following after him. Everypony except for Trixie and Rainbow Dash, the latter of which was still admiring the photograph of the ship’s crew hanging from the damaged display case.

Trixie, after finding nothing but boredom from staring at the same pictures and medals for ten minutes straight, decided to take a look outside of the window. They were just above the top of the ocean by that point, with the rest of the ship beginning to sink downwards into the water.

“It’s impressive that the ship landed in such a way that it hit the bottom of the water yet remained at this angle,” Trixie said, peering out of a window just a little further down and watching the fish swim by. “Supposedly the front of the ship is embedded into the seabed and the ship landed on one of its masts that snapped off midflight, keeping it in position.”

“This was the first ever ship to fly through the air,” Rainbow Dash said, her eyes still staring at the picture in the display case. “Princess Celestia was on this ship when it went down. The captain of the ship went down trying to fix the engine while it fell, not knowing the mast was broken, too.”

“You sound like you know your stuff.”

Rainbow nodded her head. “I like all things flying, but this airship in particular is special to me.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Trixie asked. “Had your first kiss in here or something?”

“No… The captain of this ship was my grandfather.”

“Ah.” Trixie shuffled her forehooves about nervously before removing her hat. “Sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said quickly. “I mean, this all happened long before I was even born, so I never really knew the guy to begin with. He was like my great great… great… something grandpa.”

“Makes sense, considering when this ship crashed. Still, you lost a family member here, so…” Trixie replaced her hat and gaze towards the entrance behind Rainbow Dash. “Perhaps we should leave?”

“Are you kiddin’ me?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it sucks that he died in this thing, but still, my grandfather was the first ever captain of a flying ship! How awesome is that?!” Rainbow Dash ran past Trixie, an excited look covering her face. “C’mon, let’s go check out the cockpit! I wanna see the place where my grandpa flew this thing!”

“Be careful! It’s-” Before Trixie could finish her warning, Rainbow Dash slipped and fell onto her face down the hall. “… You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good…” Rainbow Dash collected herself and shook off the pain, before bolting down the hallway again.

Trixie chuckled and gave chase, moving much slower than Rainbow Dash, down the ship’s hallway.

After taking a detour from the rest of the tour group and investigating the rest of the ship by themselves, Trixie and Rainbow Dash eventually found their way to what was typically the end of the guided tour: the ship’s cockpit.

The walls had been reinforced by a strong metal to keep the water out, and drainage systems were in place in case the cockpit ever flooded again. Much of the room was in complete disarray, and there was even mould growing in some of the darker areas.

There wasn’t much room for the two to actually walk, as much of the room had been restricted by velvet rope for safety purposes. That didn’t seem to stop Rainbow Dash from approaching the captain’s seat, though. On the chair was a damp, crumbling old tome that was supposedly the captain’s diary, the pages said to be illegible thanks to the water that had flooded the cockpit almost two hundred years ago.

“Man, just look at how old some of these controls are!” Rainbow Dash investigated the steering wheel and almost found herself squealing from excitement. “This type of wheel hasn’t been used in so long! They’re too weak and get stuck really easily if you pull it just a little too hard!”

“It looks just like any other wheel to Trixie,” Trixie said. “Except for the ones that move her trailer.”

“Yeah, well, that’s ‘cause you don’t know anythin’,” Rainbow Dash said bluntly before gasping at the sight of the ship’s intercom system, which was nothing more than a several tin cans, each one attached to a piece of string. “This was how the captain spoke to his crew back then… So awesome!”

“The window seems to be made of a particularly weak glass,” Trixie observed as she walked cautiously across the room and observed the front-most part. “And the majority of this ship was made out of a light wood that any child with a baseball bat could break through with just a few swings.”

“I know, right?!” Rainbow Dash cried out. “They just don’t make ships like this anymore, which is what makes this so cool!”

“You like vintage ships?”

“Well… yeah. I guess I do! Y’know, like how you and Twilight like that Starbucks guy.”

“Starswirl,” Trixie corrected. “And I suppose I see your point. To you, this ship must be like the first ever recipe for fireworks to Trixie.”

Rainbow Dash examined a far corner of the room and her wings almost exploded as she found the emergency escape hatch that was installed on only the first ever wave of airships, designed for the captain to hide from enemy attacks. “I think I’m in love.”

Trixie glared at the front of the airship. “I’m watching you.” Something caught Trixie’s eye outside of the ship’s front window. Attached to the cockpit was a long tunnel system stretching out throughout the ocean, and not too far into the tunnel system was… “Hey, is that that Gilda griffon down there?”

Rainbow Dash snapped her head to Trixie immediately. “Gilda? No way. The only interest she has in fish are the ones she can eat.”

“Well it sure looks like her. And Fluttershy’s there, too.”

Rainbow Dash was interested now. She walked up to Trixie’s side and looked at where the showmare was pointing. Sure enough, there was Gilda, and beside the griffon, Fluttershy. “No way. What are they doing together?”

“Maybe they bumped into each other.” Trixie narrowed her eyes as she saw movement. It was blurry through the filter of water between them, but she was sure that Gilda was putting her claw on Fluttershy’s face and that the two were turning to face each other… and leaning closer and closer towards each other, almost as if they were… “K-KISSING?!”

“NO WAY!” Rainbow Dash banged on the window. “HEY! GILDA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Calm down!” Trixie shouted in an almost-pleading tone. “You’ll break the window!”

“It’s fine! It’s reinforced,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the notice beside Trixie that said as much. She then resumed banging on the window. “YOU’D BETTER NOT BE TAKIN’ ADVANTAGE OF HER OR I SWEAR TO CELESTIA-”

“I said to calm down!” Trixie repeated, using her magic to pull Rainbow Dash back. “You’re embarrassing yourself, and Trixie too! They can’t hear you from here.”

“But they were kissing!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried to move towards the window again, Trixie’s magic restraining her. “Gilda and Fluttershy…”

“They are both adults! They can do whatever they please!” Trixie said, straining to keep Rainbow Dash at bay. “Getting angry won’t do any good! Besides, shouldn’t you be happy that your friend found somepony they like? Even if it isn’t a pony?”

“B-But, Fluttershy’s always been so shy and willing to let ponies walk all over her! I gotta make sure she’s-”

“And you can do that, but Trixie thinks it would be bad if you were to just march over there and demand an answer from the two of them. How would you have felt if your friends had done the same to us?”

“What? Well, why would they?”

“Because Trixie was their enemy at one point?” Rainbow Dash stopped resisting and turned to the showmare. Even if it was beyond Trixie’s control, Trixie was once their enemy whom they had fought against. Even before then, we hadn’t exactly gotten off to the best start. Truth-be-told, Trixie was fully expecting unpleasant reactions when we told them of our relationship… but thankfully, they trusted your judgement.”

“Trixie…” Rainbow Dash felt the magic holding her fade away and she approached her marefriend.

“Even beyond then, Trixie was still concerned that they were only acting. That they were fully prepared to ambush you or Trixie when we were apart and interrogate us.”

“You really thought they’d do that?” Trixie nodded. “But… they never would. They’re my friends, they wouldn’t let the past get to them that way. We trust each other, and we-” Rainbow Dash slowly turned her head in the direction of the aquarium. “… You’re right… I should have more faith in her… and be happy for her.” Rainbow Dash smiled and turned back to Trixie. “Sorry for gettin’ a little carried away there…”

“Yes, well… Trixie would just hate to see a happy couple burdened in such a way. It’s not a pleasant thought…”

Upon seeing Trixie nervously shuffle about before her eyes, Rainbow Dash had almost no control over her body as she stepped forward and held the showmare. “Sorry for not seeing it back then… How long were you letting that worry you?”

Trixie simply shrugged as she eased into Rainbow’s hold. “Not long. You made most of Trixie’s unease fly away… pun fully intended.”

The two held the hug for some time before separating. “So… what now? I don’t really care about the aquarium. You interested?”

“Trixie is only particularly interested in seeing the stars at night. I suppose we could look for somewhere high up to do that, in the meantime…”

“Somewhere… high up…” An idea presented itself to Rainbow Dash. “I got it! Come with me!” Rainbow Dash pulled Trixie out of the cockpit the way they came in, leading her out of the sunken ship and towards their next destination.

“Isn’t nature fascinating?” Fluttershy asked as she watched the school of luminous fish swimming past the transparent tubing, lighting up the dark water for her to see more clearly.

Gilda simply shrugged, suppressing a great yawn with much effort. “To me, a fish is a fish. And a fish is better off when it’s my lunch.” Gilda licked her lips and leaned towards the glass as she pointed at one of the fish looking at the two. “I bet this one’d taste great with ketchup.”

The fish backed away with a panicked look on his face. Fluttershy nudged Gilda hard and gave the worried fish an apologetic look. “Don’t worry, she didn’t mean it. She won’t eat you.” The pegasus then gave the griffon a sideways glare. “Right?”

“Whatever,” Gilda responded in a bored tone.

“OW!”

“You okay?” Gilda asked as Fluttershy winced and held her left eye in her hoof.

“I-I don’t know. I think some water just dripped into my eye.”

Gilda looked up to find that a water pipe above them was dripping. “Well, at least it ain’t the tunnel. Lemme have a look.” Gilda grabbed the side of Fluttershy’s face with her claw and forced the pegasus’ eye open with her talons, leaning in to take a closer look. “… It isn’t red. Can you see me?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Then you’re probably fine,” Gilda concluded as she backed away, before taking a moment to consider just how close she had got to the pegasus. ‘Huh. Good thing nopony’s around, or that could’ve given off way too wrong an impression.’ Gilda’s ear twitched and she looked around.

“Is something wrong?”

Gilda scratched the top of her head as she turned back to Fluttershy. “I dunno. I thought someone was shoutin’ out to me, but there’s nopony here…”

“Well, maybe we should move on,” Fluttershy suggested. “Um, thanks again for agreeing to come along with me today.”

Gilda dismissed the thanks with a wave of her claw. “Forget it. It’s the least I could do after ya fixed up my wing. I still don’t get why ya didn’t just ask one of your friends to come along, but-”

“Well, Rarity and Applejack are on a date,” Fluttershy began to explain. “As are Trixie and Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie and the girls are just too overwhelming, and Twilight is…”

“The brainy one? What’s wrong with her? I bet she’d actually be interested in a place like this.”

‘Yeah… A little too interested. I wouldn’t be able to look at any of the fish without a two hour lecture on everything about them,’ Fluttershy thought to herself. She smiled and said, “I just don’t think she likes fish.”

Gilda tilted her head in confusion, but didn’t bother questioning it. “Whatever. You just lead the way already.”

The Lady Firefly, the second airship ever to sail across Equestria’s skies and said to be one of three creations responsible for bringing Equestria into the modern age. It soared proudly in the air above Horseshoe, open for any and all tourists who wished to see this wonder from the past, or just for couples who wanted a great view of the sunset in the distance.

Trixie had visited the Lady Firefly previously, but had forgotten how big the ship truly was. Compared to the chariot carrying herself and Rainbow Dash towards it, it was like the difference between an ursa major and a stupid little colt who had wandered into its cave.

“We’re almost there,” Rainbow Dash observed as the chariot started to pull up sharply. “This thing still uses steam engines to move. Most airships these days have moved onto magic power.”

“Airships these days still have steam engines as a backup though, right?” Trixie asked.

“That’s right,” Rainbow answered. “But since most ponies who own airships these days are unicorn nobles, magic engines don’t tend to fail during flights.”

“We should have come here during the evening. Trixie has heard that the view is much better when the sun sets.”

“It’d be too crowded then. I wanna look around the ship before too many ponies show up. Though, I guess we could come back later tonight, too… if ya really want to.”

Trixie opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the chariot suddenly rocking, shaking the two mares inside and causing the showmare to grab her marefriend with a startled yelp.

“You two okay?!” one of the stallion’s pulling the chariot asked. “Sorry ‘bout that! Rough wind up here!”

“W-We’re fine!” Rainbow Dash said, averting her eyes from the panting mare grabbing her chest like a foal seeking its mother’s protection.

Trixie gasped as she realised what she was doing and quickly pushed away. “Idiot! Trixie doesn’t need you to hold onto her like she’s some helpless filly!”

‘You were the one grabbing me, though,’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she laughed.

“Stop that,” Trixie said with a growing blush. Rainbow’s laughter did not halt. “I said stop!” Trixie nudged Rainbow Dash, causing her to tumble backwards and fall over the edge of the chariot. “OH NO! RAI-”

Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared from below the chariot with a loud, “BOO!” Trixie found herself jumping as the hysterical pegasus landed onto the chariot, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh man, you’re too much!” Trixie was fuming, her lips turning full pout as she turned her back to Rainbow Dash with a huff. “Ah, c’mon! Lighten up already!” Rainbow said as she wrapped a wing around Trixie and pulled her closer. “Look! We’re almost there!”

The chariot touched down onto the deck of the ship. Rainbow Dash stood up so that she could leave, but was not expecting to be suddenly pushed off of the side of the chariot by something and landing on her flank.

“OW! Hey, what gives?!” Rainbow asked a smirking Trixie standing above her on the chariot.

Trixie simply replied, “And now we’re even.” The showmare jumped off of the chariot and helped the pegasus to her hooves. “Shall we?” she asked as she led the way down the ship’s deck.

“Aww yeah. This view is awesome.” Rainbow Dash stretched her legs before falling down onto her haunches beside Trixie. The two were sat on the ship’s bowsprit, looking out into the vast ocean before them with the beach just below. Thousands of ponies all moving around seemed like ants to the two and the bright sun was shining down, unobstructed by cloud, creating a warm, pleasant breeze. “Make sure you don’t fall off. Long way down, y’know.”

“Trixie will be perfectly fine,” Trixie replied as she gently nudged Rainbow Dash. “If you could not catch Trixie before she hit the ground from this height, you would not be allowed to call yourself the fastest in all of Equestria.”

“Got that right. I could go down there and order a dozen oatdogs, and still make it back up in time to catch you.”

“Let’s not test that.” Trixie leaned against Rainbow Dash’s shoulder with a pleasant sigh. “As you said, this is a great view. It would probably be even better at night.”

Rainbow Dash blushed from the sudden contact. The two had been dating for some time now, but even so, she still could not get used to seeing this side to Trixie. A side that made her feel warm and content. A side that made her want to hold the showmare close and not let go. A side that was making her lose her balance and almost fall off of the ship!

“Uh-oh!” Rainbow quickly adjusted herself so that she was balanced on the bowsprit once more. She gave a nervous chuckle before easing back into her spot, leaning the side of her head against the top of Trixie’s mane. “… Hey, how long we been goin’ out now?”

“A few months,” Trixie said. “Trixie must admit that she is surprised. She’s heard that first romances don’t always last that long.”

“Yeah. I gotta admit, I wasn’t really sure whether we’d make it this far or not at first. I mean, we kinda started quick but, I dunno, I’ve had a lot of fun with ya.”

Trixie nodded her head. “You were the first pony in a long time to stand up for Trixie. Maybe that’s what first drew me towards you.”

“And for me, I just felt like I wanted to protect you. For a while, I thought maybe that’d go away after you got back on your hooves. But it didn’t. I still wanna protect you, obviously, but there’s more to it now. I wanna spend more time with you, have more fun like we did today, know more about you and…” Rainbow Dash felt herself blushing again, this time for an entirely different reason. “Darn it. You’ve got me sayin’ cheesy stuff again.”

Trixie giggled. “That makes two of us,” she said. “For some time now, Trixie has found herself saying things she would normally save for the stage. Regardless of whatever drew us together at first, Trixie is glad that we gave this a chance.”

“Me too,” Rainbow Dash agreed, closing her eyes and smiling contently.

“And who knows? Maybe one day there’ll be a bunch of little Trixies and Dashies running around.”

Rainbow’s eyes snapped open and she backed up immediately. “Whoa whoa whoa! What?!” Rainbow felt something pressing against her nose and found it to be Trixie’s hoof.

“Gotcha,” she said. “Come now. You honestly think that Trixie can settle down with a litter of little ones before she has made sure that the entire world remembers her name?”

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. She then smiled again. “Speaking of, your trailer’s almost ready.”

“Ah, yes. Applejack has put a lot of work into that.”

“So I guess it’ll be back to the road after that.” Trixie nodded her head, causing something inside of Rainbow Dash’s stomach to stir. “You-”

“Hey, Dash?” Trixie asked, her attention focussed towards the ocean before her. “What’s that?”

Rainbow Dash followed Trixie’s gaze out to sea. She gasped at what she saw. “That’s a…” Moving towards the beach at a very high speed was a giant spiral of wind, spinning around just above the water and growing bigger by the second. “A TORANDO!”

“Why is it coming towards us?” Trixie asked, climbing to her hooves and taking a couple of steps back.

“I don’t know, but it isn’t right!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took to the air. “Forgetting to announce a small thunderstorm is one thing, but a tornado? Those are always announced weeks in advanced!”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means this wasn’t a scheduled weather event!”

“Oi! You two get back over here!” a voice shouted from behind the two mares. “We’re gonna land this rig and evacuate the ponies down below!”

“You stay on the ship,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Trixie climb off of the bowsprit.

“What? What about you?” Trixie asked.

“I gotta go check somethin’ out.” Rainbow Dash dashed away from the ship and down towards the beach quickly, leaving Trixie behind.

“H-HEY, WAIT! RAINBOW DASH, COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

“What’s happening?!”

“It’s the end of the world! Repent! Repent!”

“Somepony do something!”

“Everypony, remain calm!” a voice rang out and echoed across the beach, though only about half of the voices were silenced by this. “Please evacuate in a calm and orderly fashion! There is enough room in the Lady Firefly for everypony!”

As if on cue, the mentioned airship began to descend onto the beach, creating powerful gusts of wind that blew sand and personal effects everywhere and alerted the panicking ponies to its presence.

Trixie waited until the airship had landed before jumping out and looking for Rainbow Dash. She had seen the pegasus fly into the crowd but lost her shortly afterwards. Pushing past the hoard of ponies running in the opposite direction proved difficult and made it all the more difficult to find the rainbow-maned pegasus that she was looking for.

“Rainbow Dash! Where are you?!” Trixie found an opening where she could stand still for a moment and find her bearings. Ahead of her, Trixie caught sight of a group of ponies wearing the familiar uniform of the Wonderbolts, speaking with a panicked-looking pony in a blue suit and a young mare beside him. “Hey!”

The ponies turned to Trixie as she called out to and approached them. “Please evacuate, ma’am! This area isn’t safe!”

“So I’ve noticed!” Trixie yelled before feeling her hat blowing off of her head and watching it fly away. “… What’s going on here?! Why is there a tornado heading right towards this crowded area?!”

“As we have just explained to the resort’s owner, the tornado currently heading this way was not our doing!” the goggled mare with the orange mane explained. “The pony in charge of one of Cloudsdale’s weather factories was found cutting corners on machine maintenance, and this was the result of that!”

“Well, should you be doing something about it?!”

“We don’t have enough flyers! We need to wait for backup to arrive, or else we’ll just risk injuring ourselves and being unable to do anything!”

Trixie gritted her teeth together. “Forget flying then! Maybe Trixie’s magic can help!”

“NO!” the mare shouted, taking a hard step forward that caused Trixie to move backwards. “Absolutely not! Forcing a tornado to stop with magic will only result in an explosion that would endanger the lives of everypony here, and- Wait a minute, you look familiar…”

“So I should! The Great and Powerful Trixie was once rejected from joining the Wonderbolts, by your former captain!”

The mare gasped. “You’re Trixie Lulamoon?! It’s been ages!”

“It has, Spitfire! So what’s it like being at the top?!”

“Oh, y’know! Got the power to boss everypony around and the new cadets are always kissin’ your flank! Hey, I’m sorry you got shot down like that, but on the bright side I hear your show’s been doing good lately!”

“That’s right! The Great and Powerful Trixie has done just fine without your talentless crew!”

“Hey, c’mon now! I get you’re bitter, but there’s no call for-”

“Uh, Captain?!” Soarin asked beside Spitfire. “Shouldn’t we be focussing on the bigger problem here?!”

“You said you need more flyers!” Trixie affirmed, earning a nod from Spitfire. “How many are we talking?!”

“For something this big, we’d need at least six ponies who can break the sound barrier!” Spitfire answered. “All three of us can do that, so we’re halfway there, but any less than that is too big a risk!”

‘With Rainbow Dash, that makes four,’ Trixie thought to herself. ‘Even if Gilda can break the sound barrier, that’s still only five. Darn it! If there are any talented flyers in this crowd, finding them would be difficult in all this chaos!’

“Anyway, you should evacuate! There’s not much room for a magician when it comes to weather-handling!”

Trixie glared at the Wonderbolt captain, but didn’t say anything. She had to admit that her knowledge on weather events wasn’t the best. Being a unicorn, there was never a need to study such things in school, and the subject itself had never appealed to Trixie before meeting Rainbow Dash. Even so, she couldn’t just accept the idea that she was unable to do anything but evacuate.

“There must be something I can-”

“TRIXIE!” Trixie gasped and looked around, and then up into the sky, where she found a blue blur moving quickly down towards her. “There you are! I told you to wait on the ship!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Trixie and Spitfire both shouted in unison.

Rainbow Dash looked at Spitfire behind her, and then back to Trixie in front of her. “Oh man. Talk about your all-time greatest fantasies!”

“What are you-” Spitfire began, but was cut off by Rainbow Dash zipping forward and carrying Trixie into the air. “WAIT!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Trixie gasped in surprise as she was carried through the air and towards the tornado. “What are you-”

“So, you wanna put on a show for everypony?!” Rainbow asked before giving Trixie a grin. “How about… stopping a massive tornado with just the two of us?!”

“But Spitfire said it’s not possible with just one flyer and- Will you stop flying us closer to that thing?!”

“Normally, yeah, it would be impossible! But like I said, this tornado wasn’t scheduled, meaning it probably wasn’t created right, either! I checked it out and there are some weak points that aren’t usually there for a tornado that size!”

“That’s great! … What does it mean?”

“It means that it’s safe to use your magic to stabilise it, while I slow it down by spinning in the opposite direction!”

Trixie looked at the nearing typhoon of certain death with a worrying look. “Are you sure?!”

“Totally! The Wonderbolts may be faster flyers, but they’re not trained to handle the weather ‘cause it’s not their job! I know how to start and stop any kinda weather event from just a quick look!” Rainbow Dash slowed to a stop, flapping her wings hard to keep her from being blown towards the encroaching tornado. “If you don’t feel so good, I can take you back now! So what d’you say?!”

Trixie felt her heart racing. There she was, in a situation dealing with forces completely out of her comfort zone, but apparently it was all going to be alright… if Rainbow Dash was correct. Any sane pony would demand they be flown back to the shore immediately and let the Wonderbolts handle it, but then the guarantee was coming from somepony that Trixie trusted. Just how much did she trust in Rainbow Dash? Enough to put her own life on the line?

“… Okay.” Apparently so. “Trixie will trust you on this, but if this gets us killed, we are so through!”

“It’ll be fine! I just need you to focus your magic! Y’see those pink spots that sometimes pass by?!”

Trixie hadn’t actually paid it much thought. To her, a spinning cyclone of destruction was all the evaluation that was needed. But then, after giving it another look-over, there was something there. “Are those the weak points?!”

“Yeah! It shows that the manufacturing process wasn’t completed before this thing was unleashed! If you hit those parts, you can steady the tornado without it blowing up!”

“They’re moving pretty fast, but they seem to be following a rhythm! Trixie should be able to hit them just fine!”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Alright! Just remember I’ll be flying around in the opposite direction, too!” After taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash pushed forward again and took a sharp left, circling around the tornado whilst keeping herself a good distance away. “Now!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes and resisted the urge to blink as she focussed on the pink spots flying by her. Her horn sparked and a beam of magic hit the first spot. It was difficult to tell, but it seemed to have slowed the tornado down somewhat.

“Keep it up! This is definitely working!”

Trixie was impressed. Rainbow Dash was actually right. Together, they were stopping a rogue tornado all by themselves, and the best part of it was… she could show up the Wonderbolts. “This’ll teach you not to turn Trixie away!” Trixie shouted as she fired her second round, slowing the tornado down further.

The two continued this, creating a lightshow for the ponies on the beach as they brought the tornado down to a gradually gentle breeze, before finally Rainbow Dash was able to disperse it completely with just a kick of her hoof.

As the two returned to the beach, they were met with cheers and applause by tourists and resort staff alike. And needless to say, the two took the praise and adoration very humbly… or about as humbly as one would expect them to.

“It was nothing, really!” Rainbow Dash insisted as she signed autographs. “Well, nothing for pros like us!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie proves once again that magic triumphs over all other forces!” Trixie boasted as she handed out little Trixie plush toys to admiring fillies and colts. “Told you ponies would want them,” she whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash! Trixie!” Applejack pushed her way through the crowd of ponies and to meet her two friends. “Are you two alright?!”

“‘Course we are!” Rainbow Dash said as she flexed a foreleg. “Didn’t you see us out there? We were awesome!”

“A ten-star duo performance,” Trixie added with a flick of her mane. “Don’t worry. We’ll tell you all about it on the way home.”

Applejack frowned. “Guess y’all are okay, then, if yer egos are any indication.”

“I told you that there was no need to worry,” Rarity said as she joined Applejack, Fluttershy and Gilda following behind her.

“Y’all were about ta pass out when Fluttershy pointed out what Dash was doin’!” Applejack said, earning a scoff from Rarity. “Gilda was the one who said we didn’t have ta- Wait, what’s Gilda doin’ here, anyway?!”

All attention shifted to the griffon. “Oh,” Fluttershy said, backing up with a sheepish smile. “W-Well, I just happened to bump into her and, uh…”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said. “We saw you earlier. We know all about it.”

“You do?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, I’m sorry for not telling you. I just didn’t want to interrupt your-”

“You don’t have to explain,” Rainbow Dash said, looking past Fluttershy and forcing her best smile as she looked straight at a confused-looking Gilda. “You… can do whatever you want, I guess. A-And I’m… happy for you…”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Don’t try too hard. Trixie almost believed you,” Trixie whispered.

“Hey! Acting is your forté!” Rainbow Dash whispered back.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Gilda asked.

Rainbow Dash reapplied her smile and turned back to Gilda. “I’m just sayin’, I’m happy for you guys and… I totally… s-support it…”

Applejack seemed just as confused as Gilda and Fluttershy did. “Hey, you understand what’s goin’ on here?” she asked Rarity in a whisper.

“Well, from what I can tell, it seems that Fluttershy and Gilda are now an item,” Rarity answered.

Applejack’s eyes shot open. “You serious?!” Rarity nodded, and Applejack began to sweat as she noticed Fluttershy and Gilda looking right at her. “T-That’s great! You, uh… Ah’m happy for ya!”

Gilda looked at Fluttershy, who simply shrugged. “Uh… thanks?” Gilda turned to Rainbow Dash. “Anyway, you’ve got some explainin’ ta do. I know you’re fast, but there’s no way you should’ve been able to disperse a tornado all on your own.”

“I’m quite interested to hear about that, too,” Spitfire said, appearing from the crowd with her two teammates flanking her sides. She gave the two heroes a proud smile. “It’ll help me with rethinking some of our training exercises in the future.”

“It wasn’t that difficult, really,” Rainbow Dash said. “We-”

“Aimed for the tornado’s weak spots.”

Rainbow Dash glared at Trixie. “Right. The tornado wasn’t finished properly before it was released, so there were obvious points where magic could be used to hold it stable. After that-”

“And then Dashie slowed it down by spinning in the opposite direction whilst Trixie kept focussing her magic. Thus, we slowed the cyclone down and vanquished it forever!” Trixie gave a flourish as the crowd around her applauded.

“Y’know I’m the one who came up with the whole plan, right?” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “I even got in close all by myself just to make sure.”

“I get it,” Gilda said, sending a sideways grin to the Wonderbolts beside her. “The so-called ‘Wonder’bolts here are fast, but they know next-ta-nothin’ about how weather is made. That’s how they got shown up by a simple weatherpony.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “That’s not really-”

“No. She’s got a point,” Spitfire said. “The Wonderbolts were founded as Equestria’s elite air squad, with knowledge in anything and everything to do with the sky. Over the years, we’ve let the celebratory status get to our heads and now leave all the mediocre jobs to those pegasi who can’t make it into our ranks. I guess this time, that almost cost us a great deal of lives here at Horseshoe Bay…”

“Rainbow Dash here is a true weatherpony, though,” Applejack said, patting her friend on the back. “A real pro! Ah dare say best weatherpony there’s ever been!”

Spitfire nodded her head in agreement. “You got that right. Rainbow Dash, when it comes to the weather, you’ve got real talent.”

Rainbow Dash listened as she was showered with praise. ‘Best weatherpony’ sounded nice, of course, but she could not help but feel her stomach drop and her spirits fall. “Heh. Like I said, it was nothing…”

“And Trixie ha once again proven-” Trixie looked around. “By the way, where is Twilight Sparkle? Trixie thought she would have been here.”

“Now that ya mention it, ah didn’t see her helpin’ organise the evacuation earlier,” Applejack said.

“I haven’t seen Pinkie Pie around for some time, either,” Rarity said. “I do hope that those two are okay.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve rejoined us, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor said as Twilight sat up on her hospital bed, groaning in a groggy tone as she looked around the room. “Your friends are waiting outside. I’ll just need to run some tests before I decide whether I can discharge you or not, but first, I have a question for you.”

“A… question?” Twilight asked as she put a hoof to her head. For once in her life, Twilight wasn’t looking forward to any form of quiz. Her head was pounding and hr back was aching.

“Just a simple one, I assure you. How in Equestria… did those three fillies manage to light your back on fire simply by applying sunscreen?”

As night descended onto Horseshoe Bay, Trixie took Rainbow Dash back to the Lady Firefly to show her the wonders that the night sky held. Rainbow Dash always knew that the view from high up was awesome, but she had never really taken the time to see what it was like at night. She had just assumed that there would be no point, what with it being too dark to see anything anyway.

However, Rainbow Dash learned that night that the night sky possessed a different type of ‘awesome’ than during the day. The stars in the sky seemed so much brighter when she took the time to look at them. The moon seemed so much larger than she ever remembered. The sky was like a deep, dark abyss, threatening to suck her in, and yet it was somehow calming at the same time.

And then there was Trixie, who was going on and on about the various constellations and asterisms in the sky. She seemed so happy and energetic that it made Rainbow Dash feel good. She also looked cute whenever she blushed after realising Rainbow Dash was looking at her.

“I just don’t see it,” Rainbow Dash said, tilting her head at the stars in the sky. “They’re all just dots to me. How d’you know which ones to connect to where?”

“Perhaps you’re just lacking in imagination,” Trixie teased. “Or perhaps you should tell Luna to number them for you.”

“Look, I’ll admit the stars are awesome, but I just don’t see any ‘dippers’ or ‘belts’.”

Trixie shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well. Perhaps Trixie will get you a book on astronomy from Canterlot next week.”

Rainbow’s ear twitched. ‘That’s right, she’s going to start her travels up again?’ “… You gonna travel a lot starting next week?”

“Hm? Uh, maybe. I mean, Trixie obviously has to make up for lost time first.”

“It must be tough, always on the road like that. I mean, even if you come back, you’re still on your own during that time.”

“Well, it’s just one of the sacrifices that the Great and Powerful Trixie is willing to make to fulfil her dream.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “You… don’t give up on that.” Rainbow sighed and leaned her head against Trixie’s, hiding her frown from the showmare. ‘… While I stay as a simple weatherpony, not making any progress towards my dream.’

Author's Notes:

Wow, this thing is over a year old now. I honestly didn't think I'd be working on it for this long when I started it up, but there ya go ^_^;;