Shooting Star hovered a short distance above the floor, slowly drifting toward the right end of the large oak bookshelf. His bright violet eyes settled on their target and he reached a hoof toward the thick book. A lone candle, flickering softly from atop the desk in the corner, gently illuminated the rough cobalt coat and short indigo mane on the young, thin stallion. He had never put much time or effort into his appearance, and it showed.

The other pegasus in the room, a brilliant golden mare with a peculiar rainbow mane hanging over her left shoulder, had an annoyed look on her face. “Come ON, Star… how long does it take to find one stupid book?”

“Calm down, I’ve got it right here. Besides, the train doesn’t leave for another few hours.”

“I know, I know, but I hate just sitting and waiting. Runs in the family. I need to be DOING something, and sitting still while you look for a book just doesn’t work. But if you’ve got it, then that means we’re ready to go, right?”

“I’m good if you are.” Shooting Star opened the door. “Let’s go grab Cherry and start walking.”

A thin crescent moon spilled a soft light across the crisp autumn night, though both ponies could easily have navigated the simple dirt road with their eyes closed. Shooting Star had never left Trotsburg, but he knew his small corner of Equestria inside and out. Rainbow Rocket flew around at such ludicrous speeds, she had to memorize the area so she wouldn’t hit anything. They both trotted silently down the path for only a minute before veering off toward a small house. Rainbow reached a hoof up to the door and knocked twice.

After a brief silence, followed by a moan and some quiet shuffling sounds, the door slid open. A disheveled cyan unicorn with a cherry red mane stood in the doorway, wobbling slightly. “Can’t a pony get any sleep around here?”

“C’mon, sis. I know you had a long day, but you can sleep on the train.”

“What time is it? I thought the train didn’t leave until ten?”

“It’s only eight, y’know… better early than late and all that jazz. And unless we really hustle it’ll take an hour to get there anyway.”

“Allegedly. None of us have gone this way, at least not on hoof. We just have what other ponies have told us,” said Shooting Star.

Sweet Cherry slung a small bag across her back, stepping out into the cool night air and loosing a large yawn. She idly kicked the door closed behind her. “Whatever. Let’s get moving.”

Star and Rainbow nodded and the three ponies set off at a brisk canter to the north. Just as they reached the edge of town they stopped in front of a small earth pony. The little brown colt’s eyes shined as he looked up at Rainbow.

“Good luck, Rocket!”

“Thanks, squirt. I’m sorry your dad won’t let you come with us.”

The colt’s eyes shifted downward and his smile lost some of its energy. “It’s okay. Just… can you promise me something?”

“Sure.”

“Promise we you’ll win.”

Rainbow chuckled a little at the thought of NOT winning. She knew it was bad to let your head get too big, but really the competition was just a formality. For generations – as far back as anypony could remember and then some – every Rainbow that entered the Best Young Flier competition had won. There was one occasion where it looked like that wouldn’t be the case, but in a surprise turn of events the judges decided it was too close to call and declared a tie between the twins.

She put a hoof on the little pony’s head and ruffled his mane. “Sure thing, kiddo.”

The little brown bundle skipped merrily back toward town, humming a happy tune to himself, and the three friends continued to the north at a relaxed trot. After about a half hour, Cherry stopped and frowned. She set her bag on the ground and started rummaging through it, clearly worried she was missing something.

“What’d you leave behind?”

“I think I forgot my camera.”

Rainbow’s wings twitched slightly. She looked into her sister’s eyes with a melancholy expression in her own, scraping one hoof against the ground nervously. “We can go back, y’know. If we take off at full gallop we’ll make it.”

Sweet Cherry sighed and mirrored her sister’s sad gaze, slowly converting it into a smile. “It’s okay, sis. We’re on our way to the competition. I was planning on taking PICTURES. I can handle it. Go.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m positive. Just hurry.”

Rainbow Rocket took off like… well, like a rocket. Before either of her companions had time to blink she was nothing more than a speck on the horizon. Shooting Star stared with a slightly slackened jaw before closing his mouth and turning toward Cherry.

“She just keeps getting faster. So… what exactly was that about?”

Cherry let out a long sigh. “It’s… it’s stupid. Ever since she learned to fly she’s been really careful about it around me. Every time we need to get somewhere really fast or do something up in the sky she hesitates and waits for me to tell her it won’t offend me if she takes care of it. She feels guilty that she gets to carry on the family tradition and I don’t. But it’s so dumb! I’m a unicorn! I can do magic! So what if I can’t fly straight into houses and trees at a zillion miles an hour? She can and it makes her happy. I just wish she would stop holding back because of me, but she never listens. She got mom’s gift, I got dad’s. We’re both special and unique little snowflakes blah blah blah diversity. We’re both awesome and it actually hurts me more to see her feeling sorry for me than to see her doing something amazing that I can’t. So she can fly. I CAN BURN OBJECTS WITH MY MIND. I can’t tell you how many times she’s done something like this and I’ve had to resist the temptation to light her up.”

Star chuckled. “This is the part where I’d make a joke about the ‘warmth of your sisterly love’ and something something fire, but I’m not a comedian and I haven’t got anything prepared.”

“You’re plenty funny. Just look at your face!”

“Har har. You sure showed me what for with that rapier wit of yours! An ugly joke, how original!”

An enormous cloud of dust filled the air as Rainbow skidded to a halt, a camera hanging around her neck and a few leaves sticking out of her mane. “Did I miss anything?”

“Apparently you didn’t miss a tree or two,” quipped Star.

Rainbow ran a hoof through her main, dislodging the debris. “Ha ha. You’re hilarious... Let’s get moving – we’ve got a train to catch.”

The three friends set off once more, resuming their original brisk canter. Before long, they had reached Hoofington and could see the train station standing proudly in the center of town. Shooting Star stepped in front of his friends.

“We’re here, and we managed to make it with an hour to spare. Anything either of you want to do while we’ve got the time?”

Rainbow looked around briefly before dismissively waving a hoof. “Eh, Hoofington’s boring even in the day and any town this small isn’t going to have much of a night life. Probably more than Trotsbore, but it’d be impressive if they managed not to. I think I’m just gonna find somewhere to grab a snack and then get on board. Either of you hungry?”

Cherry yawned. “Not me. I’m getting on that train and going to sleep.”

Rainbow turned to face Star. “What about you, egghead?”

“Sure, why not. Any place in particular you had in mind?”

“How could I? I never come here. I don’t even know what places there ARE.”

“Then how are you so sure it’s so boring?”

“Just look around you! There’s nothing going on, hardly any ponies walking down the street. You can’t feel the buzz of a city that knows how to be alive.”

“I’ll just take your word for it. So, uh, that way I guess? There’s lots of light coming from over there.”

Rainbow nodded and the two pegasi trotted toward the active end of town.

“Rainbow… do you know why they hold the competition in Canterlot? I’ve read historical accounts that always mention it taking place in Cloudsdale.”

“No idea, but it’s been in Canterlot as far back as I’ve heard. My great grandma won it in Canterlot, and then my grandma and then my mom. I don’t dare doubt the mighty truth of these books you like so much, but if it was ever anywhere else it was a LONG time ago. Like, probably back when we had a princess. Can you even imagine what it must’ve been like back then? The sun and moon needing to be tended to every day? What if something went wrong? It would be total chaos!"

“Actually, there were a few occasions where something did go wrong. And there was more than one princess. I have a great book you can borrow! The princesses were sisters, you see. One of them, Princess Luna, was responsible for the moon. Her elder sister Princess Celestia was responsible for the sun. Then one day…”

Shooting Star was interrupted by a hoof on the end of his muzzle. “We’re here.”

---------------------------------------------------

Dozens of ponies came tumbling out of the train, pushing and shoving whatever happened to be in front of them, all eager to be on their way. Shooting Star, Sweet Cherry, and Rainbow Rocket eventually found themselves standing still in a pocket of space where shoving was not the primary means of interaction. None of them had ever been to Canterlot before, and the ancient city was quite a sight for them to drink in. An elegant alabaster castle, littered with tall spires and ornate balconies, rose up from the side of an imposingly large mountain. In many places, masterfully crafted stained glass windows could be seen catching the sun’s rays. The interior of the castle must have been absolutely gorgeous.

The castle was impressive in every sense of the word, but this is not to say the city itself was lacking. Canterlot was an enormous metropolis filled to the brim with unique buildings of every architectural style imaginable. Thousands, if not millions, of ponies roamed the streets alongside many other creatures. There were griffons and dragons and deer and diamond dogs and… whatever that thing over there was!

Their gawking was cut short by a cry of recognition. “LITTLE ROCKET! OVER HERE!”

Rainbow groaned at the use of that nickname, but turned and motioned her companions in the direction of the voice. The three ponies made their way to a small yellow unicorn with a poofy orange mane leaning against a decorative fountain.

“Cherry! Rocket! It has been too long! Come here, it is time for hugs!”

Both sisters embraced their father in a warm hug.

“My little Rocket, have you been to the arena yet?”

“Nope. I’m not even sure where it is.”

“We will fix this. Come, I will show you where I met your mother! Cherry, you also!”

Sweet Cherry turned and looked at Shooting Star. “Think you’ll be okay all alone in big scary Canterlot?”

“I can manage. The competition isn’t for a few hours, so I think I’ll just take a look around out here. Maybe I’ll find a nice bookstore.”

“You really should get your muzzle out of your books sometime and make some friends.”

“I’ve got two!”

“Some friends. Not TWO.”

“Two is some! One friend, two friendS. Plural.”

Cherry rolled her eyes. “Okay then. I’ll see you in a while, alright? I gotta go catch up with those two.”

“See you later.”

Cherry trotted off in the direction that her family had gone, disappearing into the thick crowd. Shooting Star turned in place, glancing all around for anything that would suggest a direction. It didn’t take long for him to find a dilapidated two story building with a large wooden sign depicting a book. With nothing else on his mind, he pushed his way through the door.

Entering the dusty old store, he quickly surveyed the shelves. He was a kid in a candy store. This place was no simple ‘come in and pick up the latest blockbuster novel’ affair. This place was SERIOUS. There were shelves and shelves and shelves of huge, thick tomes reaching from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. There were also a few rows of smaller shelves out in the middle of the floor that appeared to be populated with that special brand of pulpy nonsense that almost made him gag. Just to one side of the entrance was a rather grand mahogany countertop with a decrepit old unicorn stationed behind it, apparently sleeping. Salivating slightly, Star snapped his attention to the far corner of the store where the staircase up was located. If the popular garbage was out in the center of the bottom floor, and the good stuff was along the walls… he shivered. This was going to be good.

The world upstairs was different. Every surface seemed dull and faded, almost like an old photograph. Shooting Star reached a hoof out to the nearest shelf. It felt solid enough. He put his hoof back down and noticed the spot where his hoof had been was much more vivid than before. The entire room was positively coated with dust – as if nopony had been up here for years. Examining the shelves more closely, he was surprised to find that he didn’t recognize a single title. Or author, for that matter. Many of the volumes here had publication dates that were unbelievable. It was a GOLDMINE up here. Unfortunately, Star knew he didn’t have the time to properly freak out and begin the process of choosing which ones to buy. He didn’t have the bits or the load bearing capability to take them all home, and choosing a select few out of the thousands available would be a time consuming process.

Deciding to mentally map out this part of Canterlot and return later, Star sighed wistfully as he left the shop empty-hoofed. He could indulge himself later. For now, he needed to make sure he wouldn’t lose track of time. He needed to be there for his friend. If only he knew where ‘there’ was. Now was as good a time as any to get his bearings and learn the basic layout of the city, remembering to make special note of the location of this particular bookstore.

---------------------------------------------------

“And THAT is when your mother started blushing. She had misunderstood me because of how I speak differently.”

“Yes, I get it dad. Now if you don’t mind stopping those stories, I’d rather keep my lunch in my stomach.”

“Love is beautiful and natural.”

Rainbow put a hoof to her mouth and imitated a gagging motion. “I’m sure it is, and I’d probably be willing to listen to these kinds of stories from time to time. But not when they’re about my parents.”

“Haha… some day you will find a fine stallion and you will understand. Now remember the wing stretches that your mother taught to you.”

“I can handle this. Really, dad, I can. No Rainbow has ever lost one of these competitions.”

“Confidence is good, but remember that you earn your victory. Not your heritage. Your mother must judge honestly and impartially.”

“I know. Don’t worry, I won’t let either of you down. You’re going to love my big finish.”

“I am sure we will. Remember always, I love you my little Rocket.”

She lowered her head and nuzzled the front of her father’s neck. “I love you too, dad.”

“Cherry and I will be watching from the crowd, and also that friend of yours who loves the books.”

“Star managed to find the place okay? It looked like we sorta ditched him back there.”

“Yes, he is here. I will go back out there now. Break a wing!”

The rainbow maned pegasus suppressed a giggle. “Just one?”