The Wind Beneath Her Wings

Timeline: Two years, six months later

The bell above the door jingled, filling the main room of Sugarcube Corner with a sweet melody. Pinkie Pie had come to know it as the sound of either friends or profit—most likely both. A small gem set into the kitchen wall repeated the noise, ensuring that she could hear it even while in the midst of a long baking session. “One minute,” she called, and began to put the finishing touches onto a tray of newly baked cupcakes. They were orange and adorned with slices of apple. They were not for sale; they were hers.

“Hi! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, where the real sweetie is yo- oh, hello Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie bounced through into the main room with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. “How're the foals?”

Mrs. Cup Cake stood immediately before the counter, inspecting the selection of tasty treats under her nose with great interest. Pinkie couldn't help but notice the look of indecision on her face, or the freshly licked lips. “Just take one, on the house!” Pinkie said, pushing the trays closer to her.

“Oh dear, I couldn't. I wouldn't want to start eating your profits already, Pinkie! Anyway, if I get too fat I'll have to diet again.” She stifled a laugh with her forehoof.

“Don't be silly, Mrs. Cake! You look fine, and I could never repay you properly anyway! Try the doughnuts, they're my own recipe!”

“Well, just this once can't hurt… Anyway, dear, how many times have I told you, call me Cup.”

“Nope! You'll always be Mrs. Cake to me,” Pinkie jumped over the counter in one smooth motion to nuzzle what was practically her adoptive parent. “I mean it. I could never repay you—either of you.”

“Don't mention it, Pinkie. Your happiness is all we've ever wanted.”

“Oh, I am! I have everything I've ever wanted.” The gleeful edge to her voice wavered slightly, “Well, almost.” She bounced back over the counter, once more taking her place selling sugar, sweets, and happiness to the citizens of Ponyville. “So how are Pound and Pumpkin? Can I come visit soon?”

“Of course, dear! Any time, just pop in, they'll be glad to see you. Why, Pound was asking after his Auntie Pinkie not more than a week ago! They grow up so fast.”

“Yeah…” Pinkie smiled, recalling how small they'd been just a few short years ago.

“You have too, Pinkie.”

“Huh? Nah, I'm just Pinkie Pie, same as ever!”

“You're too modest, dear. Why, before the kids were born we could barely trust you with watching over the shop for an afternoon. Now you're running it. I'm so proud of you, dear.”

“Thanks. Ooh, try one of these cookies, too! I made them specially for some of my friends!” Pinkie pointed over to one of the trays; Purple cookies with blue icing generously applied to the top. The tag stuck to the end of the tray read True Love—1 bit each.

“I'd love to, but I really must be off. I was only popping by to make sure you were getting on okay.”

“I'm fine, Mrs. Cake. I'm absolutely fine.”

The older mare smiled. She grabbed one of the previously proffered doughnuts and turned to depart, leaving Pinkie alone in the shop once more. “Hm, almost mid-afternoon,” Pinkie noted, checking the clock on the room's far side, “I'd better eat something before the lunchtime rush, right Gummy?”

Gummy blinked.

“You're so right, Gummy! I'm surrounded by things to eat!” Pinkie grabbed one of the less popular items from one of the more awkward to reach trays and carried it through to her kitchen, experimentation chamber, and break room. However, before she'd managed even a modest bite, she heard the familiar sound of the bell chime once again. “Forget something?” she asked, hoping Mrs. Cake had decided to take her up on her offer of True Love.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Jeez, Pinkie, I know I haven't been around in a while but that doesn't mean I've forgotten you. Is this a bad time?”

Pinkie gasped. “No! No, I thought you were somepony else! Now's fine—want a cookie? I made them specially for you!”

“Heh, I'll pass. Gotta watch my figure.” Dash half-smiled for an instant, then her face returned to something unreadable. Her eyes were slanted in concern, but quivered as if she were trying to hide her typical bravado.

“Yeah, I guess they can't have a house flying in the Wonderbolts, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Dash replied with an almost bitter sounding laugh. “So, hey, can we talk?”

“Of course we can talk, Dash. I've barely seen you for months; we have so much to catch up on! How's training? Everything you thought it'd be? How are you and Twilight, I've barely seen her either! Say, do you still talk to Applejack much, because I've bar-” Pinkie froze. Her ears dropped and she finished her sentence at barely a whisper- “barely talked to her.” Pinkie sighed. “I guess we're just all so busy these days.”

“I guess,” Dash dismissively replied. “That's not really what I wanted to talk about. Have you seen Twilight much lately?”

“Nuh-uh.” Pinkie shook her head. “Not since they opened the neckasorus.”

“Nexus,” Dash harshly corrected. “Sorry, Twilight's drilled the word into my head.” They were silent for a few moments. Pinkie, of course, had things to say, but Dash's face told her that whatever was coming next wasn't easy for the pegasus. “H- hey, can you close up for a minute? I kinda need this to be private.”

“Sure, Dash.” Pinkie walked over to the door and pushed the Open sign around to Closed. Nobody would disturb them now. “What's wrong?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Maybe I should start from the beginning?”

Pinkie nodded.

“Okay. Y'know, everything seemed like it was going so well. I was… We were happy. Twi had her research and I had my practising and my helping her with her research, and Spike was spending more time out of the house so we uh, we never really got much research done. Everything was great- no, better than great. Everything was perfect.” Dash sighed and sat down on the floor.

Pinkie handed her one of her special cookies and sat a few feet away, listening intently. Dash's use of past tense was starting to scare her.

“Then everything changed, almost overnight. Twilight woke me up one morning with the latest edition of Equestrian Fliers Monthly and the big story was all about Fleetfoot's sudden retirement. My initiation ceremony was a week later. A week after that Twilight got news from Canterlot that they wanted to build a travel network using her teleport rock things. That's where it all started going wrong, I think.”

“What do you mean, Dash? Are you and Twilight okay?”

“I dunno, Pinkie. She barely talks to me anymore, and when she does she doesn't look up from her work. And this cookie just tastes bitter.”

“Can I… help?”

Dash shook her head. “I just wanted somepony to talk to about it. You know you've always been my best friend, I just didn't know who else I could…” Dash trailed off. “Look, forget it. I shouldn't have come here, this isn't your problem.”

“Dash! You're my friend, of course it's my problem! I just want to see you happy, that's all.”

Dash shook her head and turned to leave. Before Pinkie could do more than raise a foreleg to stop her, Rainbow Dash had proved once more that she was the fastest pony in the room, and left it. The gust of wind from her wings blew the sign on the door back around to Open as if fate itself thought that Pinkie was going to leave it at that.

“I'm going to get to the bottom of this.” Pinkie shook her head. “You coming, Gummy?”

Gummy blinked.

“Suit yourself.”

As the door slammed shut a second time, the sign read Closed. Pinkie didn't know where Dash had gone, but she knew where Twilight would be. Pinkie moved through the lunchtime crowds with a purpose, bouncing over those ponies shorter than her and slipping under those that dwarfed her. The modern Ponyville crowd was even more diverse than it had been just a few months prior, housing ponies from all ends of Equestria. Pinkie uncharacteristically ignored the new faces as she made her way to the town's public library; old friends came before new friends.

The sign on the treehouse's door read Closed. Pinkie opened it anyway and set foot inside a darkened room. Books were strewn across the floor and the shelves seemed disorderly and unmaintained. Pinkie looked over to the section marked A and gasped in horror as she spotted a book by an author called Bluebell. Something seemed very wrong.

“We're closed!” Twilight snapped. Her voice echoed through the tree, disguising her true location. “Please come back later.”

“Twilight, it's me! Pinkie Pie! Hello!”

“Oh, hello.” Twilight echoed through the room, “What can I do for you, Pinkie?”

“Oh, I just wanted to talk to you!”

“Can it wait? I'm very busy.”

“It's about Dashie,” Pinkie said, calling out to a location unknown. A moment later, Twilight appeared before her in a brief flash of light. Her mane was unkempt and her eyes looked tired, as if she hadn't slept for days. “You look exhausted, Twilight.”

“I'm fine.” Twilight straightened her mane with a quick application of magic and closed the door behind Pinkie, plunging them into near-darkness. A second later, her horn lit up, soon followed by the candles littered around the room. “I'm just busy, as you can see. I've-” Twilight paused to yawn- “got a lot of books to read and a lot of things to manage. What did you want, is Dash okay?”

“I don't know, she seemed really stressed and I haven't seen her for ages,” Pinkie said, ending her sentence with a sigh. “Or you. What happened to us, Twi?”

“I don't know, Pinkie, when was the last time you threw us a party? That used to be a weekly event at least.”

Pinkie Pie sighed, thinking back to the last time she'd had time for an excuse-free party. “You're right, I should throw one tonight! That'll fix everything!”

“Too busy, sorry. There's a huge shipment of grain coming in from Manehatten that needs to get to Cloudsdale and they still haven't gotten their crystal fully set up. I'd have gone myself, but I don't have the time.”

“Tomorrow?”

“The Canterlot railway line is moving to one journey a day; I'm anticipating higher usage and need to stick around to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“Any time this week? Next?”

“Sorry, Pinkie.”

“O- okay, that's okay! We'll have the party here!”

Twilight shook her head. “Too many distractions. I'm getting behind just talking to you, Pinkie; I have three different projects and a contract that need to be finished by tomorrow. It won't last, things will get smoother and then everything'll be o-” Twilight stumbled mid-sentence and the candles around the room flickered and dimmed. Twilight's horn sparked softly, providing the room's only source of light.

Pinkie immediately moved forward to catch the falling unicorn. “Twilight! Are you okay?”

“Y- yeah. That keeps happening, haven't had time to track it down. Probably not important. I really need to get back to work, Pinkie, if you don't mind…” Twilight stretched her hoof out towards the door, which swung open at her command.

“Twilight, I'm your friend, I could help.”

“Celestia damnit, Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouted. “I don't need help, I just need time! I can do this on my own! I don't need anypony else, I've never needed anypony else! Just get o-” Twilight's voice faltered and returned as barely a whisper- “just leave me be. Just give me time. Why won't anypony leave me alone? Between constant interruptions from ponies like you, Dash snapping at everything I say, and Celestia sending me letters I just don't have time for I don't know what to do!”

“Remember when you first got here, and Applejack wouldn't accept any help bucking apples? She didn't think she needed help either.”

“Out!” Twilight yelled. She scrunched her eyes shut, her horn flared, and an instant later Pinkie found herself on the far side of the door. It slammed shut an instant later. Before Pinkie could run back inside, the surface of the tree took on a translucent red sheen as Twilight cast a protective charm across the whole structure. Pinkie Pie didn't know a great deal about magic, but she did know that there weren't many things that could breech that sort of shield, even when cast in anger.

Defeated, Pinkie slinked home. The lunch rush was over and she could at least walk without drawing attention to herself. You aren't going to let this stop you, are you, Pinkie? she thought to herself.

“Of course not!” Pinkie replied, utterly silently. Pinkie's conversations with herself were for her ears only. She opened the door to Sugarcube Corner and slipped inside. The sign remained firmly Closed. Cakes and cookies were all well and good, but they couldn't solve this particularly friendship emergency.

So what're you gonna do about it, huh?

“I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out! They're my friends, I have to!”

Well, think fast, Pinkie's reflection got up and walked away. A few seconds later, her normal, less talkative reflection reappeared. It properly mirrored her actions, watching obediently as Pinkie looked through her cupboards for something—anything—that could help in the current situation. She found nothing.

“I wish you wouldn't do that,” Pinkie said aloud, to nobody in particular.

I know, I can hear your thoughts.

“You are my thoughts!”

Pinkie got impression of a shrug, though of course she had nothing to see to confirm it. Pinkie's subconscious often had ideas—many of which had come in useful and some of which she'd never have thought of—but it was still just her. Twilight had once mentioned that talking to oneself was a sign of insanity.

We're not crazy, we're just friends!

Pinkie—and her subconscious—giggled. It was a short lived laugh, however, as Pinkie fell back on her haunches, having exhausted her room's supply of assorted stuff and having found nothing of use. This was a friendship emergency that couldn't be solved even by the pike of happiness, and she didn't have a single suitable ammunition for the party cannon.

“I'm going to need help on this one, Gummy.”

“I know, darling, but what can I do about it?” Rarity mumbled around the selection of pins she held between her lips. She was hard at work sewing her latest design; its popularity had surprised even her and the demand was leaving her exhausted. “I can't even keep up with my own problems, never mind everypony else's. Anyway, those two are simply storybook, this is a blip, I'm sure of it.”

“But Rarity, she seemed really angry! Twilight, angry! At me!”

“Celestia forbid, Pinkie.” Rarity rolled her eyes and kicked her sewing machine into a higher gear. Her eyes darted around the material as she straightened or bent the fabric with concentrated magic to fold it into the perfect shape for a perfect dress. “Have you considered she really was just busy? You can be very demanding, dear.”

“Yeah but… What about what Dash said?”

“Rainbow Dash is probably just tired. I'm quite certain she's not used to doing any real work; the training is probably exhausting the poor dear. It's nothing, Pinkie, I'm sure of it.”

“So you won't help?” Pinkie snorted and folded her forelegs, falling back on her hind to steady herself.

“It's not a case of won't, I don't have the time. Little Applebloom—well, I suppose not that little anymore—is coming over later to repair one of my spare machines so I can finally get some help, but right now I can hardly spare the time for this, never mind some wild goose chase! If I miss another Spa appointment Fluttershy'll be quite devastated, not that the dear would ever admit it.”

“Fine, I guess I'll have to do it alone.” Pinkie turned to leave, fully planning to slam the door, no matter how childish it might make her seem.

Pinkie turned back, opening her mouth as if she had something to say. Uncharacteristically, nothing came out, and she turned to leave once more a few seconds later. The door closed softly behind her, and Rarity sighed in relief. She pulled a needle from between her lips and began to weave it through two sheets of silk in preparation for the next section of dre-

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, crashing back through the door with all the subtlety of, well, Pinkie Pie. “I'm gonna throw a party next week, please say you can come!”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world, Darling.” Now for Celestia's sake leave me alone—I think Twilight has the right idea shouting at you. We're busy, dear!

“Yay! See you around, Rarity!”

“Fluttershy!”

You want to bring Fluttershy around questioning people? Pinkie thought, She's afraid of questions.

“What about Applejack, then?” Pinkie asked. She was slowly wandering through Ponyville's town square. It was early afternoon—normally time for a snack, but today Pinkie had no time for snacks—and the streets were only sparsely populated. Most of the ponies hanging around were travelling either to or from the elegant looking building just by the town hall that had been built only a few months prior.

Too busy working, she'd get behind.

The architecture didn't match its surroundings; the ornate and chiselled walls were more reminiscent of Canterlot than Ponyville, and the four pillars supporting the roof were clear influences from Pegasus designs. The pair of imposing doors at its front would have been more at home leading into Canterlot's throne room than the sparsely decorated interior. Indeed, the only things visible inside were various crystals set into the wall, and even they were functional, not decorative.

As Pinkie looked on, one of the crystals began to glow. An instant later a prim and well-trimmed looking unicorn stallion appeared. Before Pinkie could get a good look at him, he walked over to another crystal and touched it with his hoof. A moment later, he was gone.

“Impressive, isn't it?” Cloud Kicker asked, slowing her flaps and landing beside Pinkie. The earth pony nodded. “It's all pegasus run, you know? Nopony wants flying carriages anymore, so travel pegasi are all coming over to this thing.”

“Hey, you're Dash's friend, aren't you?” Pinkie asked, turning around to get a proper look at the pegasus beside her. She'd seen her with Dash, though not recently.

“Not really. Moreso than we used to be, or at least I thought we were. She kinda vanished after the whole Wonderbolt thing. So much for all those promises about not forgetting us, I guess.”

“So you haven't talked to her at all?”

Cloud Kicker shook her head. “Sorry, Pinkie. Anyway, I gotta head off to work, see you around.”

“Yeah, see you,” Pinkie absent-mindedly replied, before walking off deep in thought. If she was to get to the bottom of this, she'd have to figure out who Rainbow Dash did still talk to. Her gaze crossed over the seemingly misplaced building once more.

Rainbow Dash soared across the cerulean sky with her wings spread wide and her teeth clenched. With every beat, she moved a little faster; she speared through clouds and shot across the open landscape at such a speed that she didn't cut through the air so much as smash it aside. She dare not take a breath, knowing that at this velocity, the air would be ripped from her lungs in a heartbeat and she would have no choice but to decelerate.

Canterlot, seat of power and the most influential and powerful location in Equestria, sped by in the blink of an eye. The towers glistened in the early-afternoon sun, but barely registered with the pegasus. Her every thought was occupied with minute adjustments for wind speed, anticipation and correction for turbulence, plotting the most efficient path to her goal, and trying to suppress the flaming ache in every muscle, bone, and tendon her wings possessed.

Ponyville blurred underneath her. The fields of Sweet Apple Acres and the treehouse she still tried to call home passed by before she could whip up a coherent thought recognising them. Dash's ears twitched as she heard something begin to crackle and spark. She'd achieved a sonic rainboom barely a few hundred meters from Cloudsdale's limited-flight zone; this was something else. Something new.

Dash looked directly forward, across the rolling hills of Equestria's outskirts and onto the ocean beyond. She had room to speed up, she realised. Her wingbeat increased in ferocity. The crackling in her eyes began to grow deeper. The air streaming around her body began to fade away as if it were no longer there. Her vision began to blur and spots in front of her grew darker, similar to something covering her eyes but somehow different. Her wings became a blur as she flapped harder than she ever thought possible. Every muscle twitched and convulsed as she turned her entire body into a streamlined flying machine, constantly adjusting for every imperfection in air pressure to keep her flying straight and true.

She blacked out.

“Ugh, what happened?” Dash asked nobody in particular. She felt weightless, and weak, as if she'd been in some great accident and Twilight was holding her up for protection. She could tell that wasn't that case, however, from the ache in her wing joints; Twilight was too practised at making those better.

She opened her eyes. Everything was blue. She turned and saw the horizon, and the ocean below her getting increasingly closer at a terrifying pace. “Horsefeathers.” Dash swore under her breath, groaning in pain as she extended her wings. A little twisting later and they caught the wind, slowing her descent and allowing her to transition into a relatively smooth glide.

The coastline was just barely visible at one end of the horizon, but Dash had nowhere else to aim for. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and began to gingerly flap, eager to return to solid ground but painfully aware she'd stretched herself beyond her limits and needed time to recover. It was to be a long flight home.

“Ma'am? You can't go there,” the attendant cheerfully said, blocking Pinkie's hoof from touching the shiny crystal marked Cloudsdale. She stepped back and retracted her wings, allowing them to settle calmly at each side of her body. Her coat was somewhere between beige and light orange, and her mane was a curious shade of red. Her mouth was twisted into a false grin and her eyes sparkled in the light filtering through one of the stained-glass windows set into the front wall of the crystal building.

“But I've gotta!” Pinkie replied.

“That crystal leads to Cloudsdale, there isn't a ground there. You'll fall.” The grin remained unshaken.

Pinkie paused, realising the attendant was right. “But it's really important!”

“Well, we do have some more experimental crystals Twilight dropped off a few days ago we haven't had a chance to properly test yet, but-”

“I'll take 'em!”

The attendant sighed and turned around, somehow maintaining her smile, and rummaged through the drawers of a desk on the far side of the room. The desk itself was covered in stacks of papers and reference manuals, presumably dropped off by Twilight or for delivery to her later. After a few moments of searching, four horseshoes were retrieved and dropped at Pinkie's feet. “With these you shouldn't fall through the clouds. They're completely untested and, given how Twilight Sparkle has been acting lately probably don't even work. So, scream when you get there and maybe you won't die.”

“Okie dok-” The attendant shoved Pinkie towards the crystal marked Cloudsdale and watched her vanish in a puff of magic. Her grin returned to a more neutral expression as she trotted over to her desk, where there was yet more paperwork to be done. Twilight Sparkle was expecting these by late afternoon for review, and the attendant had neither the time nor patience for Pinkie Pie.

“-ie, I'll be sure t- ooh, that was fast!” Pinkie exclaimed, barely even noticing the trip. She looked down at her hooves and bounced a few times, marvelling at the way the cloud compressed under her horseshoes without giving way. Pinkie looked around, spotting nobody, and decided to test something.

Pinkie Pie's head emerged underneath the cloud layer, letting her gaze fall upon the surface of Equestria. Cloudsdale was currently passing over some small farming settlement. The cornfields stretched off for miles, and though the trees were golden brown—as fitting the season—many of them still seemed to bear fruit. Tiny ponies trotted down below, like ants or toys, going about their daily lives unaware they were being watched by a Pinkie overhead.

Something on the horizon caught her attention. A familiar streak of rainbow crossed the sky, though travelling slower than she was used to. At its tip, a Rainbow Dash unevenly flew.

Pinkie pulled her head back up to the surface, leaving a small hole behind her. She pushed at the cloud surrounding it for a few moments to try to cover over the hole, but found it unmalleable. Eventually giving up, Pinkie darted outside and began to look around.

The outside of the crystal building looked very similar to the one back in Ponyville, except it was constructed entirely out of clouds. Again, it simply looked out of place among the pillars and hard edges of modern Cloudsdale architecture. Unlike Ponyville's, it didn't seem to be attended, nor was it particularly active; there was only one crystal there, marked Ponyville.

The rainbow trail soared overhead, immediately catching Pinkie's gaze. She began to trot after it, jumping over small gaps between clouds and leaping atop of buildings as she went. Even slower than usual, Dash was almost impossible to catch by any conventional means. Pinkie was not a conventional pony.

In spite of this, Dash got away. The cloud Colosseum was separated from Cloudsdale's main body by a gap many dozens of meters too wide for Pinkie to leap, and she had no choice but to take another path. The only access on hoof was from the front, where a thin strip of cloud bridged the gap.

“And just where the hay have you been?!” Spitfire's hoof rose pointedly, pushing into Dash's chest and causing her to stumble back a little. “What are you playing at, Rainbow?”

Dash's wings twitched, opening a little wider, though still staying mostly closed at her sides. “Breaking my own damn speed record again, that's what.”

“In the middle of a training session? I don't give a damn what you've achieved, rookie, we need to work as a team!”

“I already know all of your tricks! I've practised them for years! Why can't I just fly with you guys?” Dash's wings opened a few degrees more, and her eyes sharpened as she stared the flight captain down.

“Because you still can't hold back to fly with other people.”

“That's because I'm better!” Dash shouted, letting her wings spread threateningly. They were still weak from her earlier accident, but none of that showed in a mere display of aggression.

“Hey!” Another member of the Wonderbolts chimed in, quickly running up to the disturbance. “Hey, what's going on, cap?”

“Nothing, Soarin'. Me and Dash are just having another discussion, right Dash?” Spitfire tried her best to calm the situation and defuse the time-bomb ticking in front of her.

“No, not right, I'm sick of this. It's been months! I waited years for you guys, and it's been months, and I still haven't even flown with you!” Dash's wings quivered as her voice began to crack, tinting her aggression with a weakness she didn't want to show.

“Cool it, Dash,” Spitfire ordered. “You can fly with us once you've proven you aren't a liability, and stunts like today just show you aren't ready. You could hurt yourself—you could hurt us. You could hurt somebody that just happened to be around. You've gotta be more responsible, Dash.”

“Responsible?! What the hay do you know about responsible? You guys can't go a day without bringing somepony new into your beds. Hey, hooves up who here is actually loyal to somepony?” She waited a few seconds in silence. “Yeah, thought so.”

“C'mon, Dash,” Soarin' interjected. “You're angry, I get it; I had to do the same thing. It doesn't seem fair now, but you'll get over it.”

“Go to hay,” Dash spat. “I've seen your record; you were on prohibition for a week.”

“That's because he could follow orders.” Spitfire snarled back. Her own wings were starting to twitch.

“This is horsefeathers.” Dash's wings flared to their full standing, causing the ponies gathered around her to take a step back. They knew what Dash was capable of, and none of them wanted to provoke that. They sighed a collective sigh of relief as she took off, darting away into the distance before any of them could say another word.

Pinkie Pie stood at the far end of the Colosseum with her mouth hanging open. That wasn't the Dash she knew. The other members of the Wonderbolts wiped their brows and began to disperse, heading back to whatever it was they were doing before. The fiery captain walked away talking with her stallion co-captain, heading towards one of the rooms set into the walls of the structure. Pinkie Pie bounced after them.

“Hey!” She hurried, hoping to intercept them before they got away. “Hey, Wonderbolts! It's Pinkie Pie!”

The two turned to look at her. Soarin' took a step back in surprise as his eyes darted to the sides of her body, noting the complete lack of wings. “Celestia, what happened to you?”

“Huh?”

“Your wings, they're… gone.”

“I've never had any wings, silly! Well… Once. I think. Anyway, I need to talk to you!”

“Sorry, we don't have any places open,” Spitfire replied in a half-serious drawl. “Well, one. I think.”

“Hey, give her a chance.” Soarin' looked over to the captain, breaking his gaze from Pinkie's body.

“She's had a chance, Soarin'! She's had three months worth of chances, and she keeps blowing them. If it wasn't for Celestia breathing down my neck I'd have kicked her out on her flank weeks back.”

“Are you talking about Dashie?” Pinkie's face twisted in concern. “I'm her friend, you can tell me!”

“Yeah, we're talking about Rainbow Dash. I think she's the youngest 'bolt yet, but it shows. She's just a kid. Can't hack it in a team.”

Soarin' shuffled on his hooves. “Come on, be fair. She's a bit rough around the edges, but-”

“No, I've had it with her. I don't care if you want to sleep with her or what, Soarin', I'm not changing my mind.”

Pinkie gulped, but it didn't help her throat feel any less dry. “You can't,” she whispered. “She'll be devastated.”

“What else can I do? I let her onto the team like she is now and we're all dead. She can't help but show off. That's fine for most, but if she decided to 'show off' during a show we'd get blown out of the sky.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No! It's been her dream since like, forever! You can't! I'll- I'll… bake you cookies! Cupcakes! Anything!”

Spitfire shook her head. “I'm not just making my mind up now; this is just the last feather.”

“But-”

“No buts. Look, I know you're her friend and I know this must be difficult for you to understand, but Rainbow Dash simply isn't Wonderbolt material.” Spitfire turned and walked the short distance into the room carved into the thick cloud wall of the Colosseum. Soarin' looked as if he were going to speak, opening his mouth in preparation, but nothing emerged, and a few seconds later, he followed his captain. Pinkie Pie was left standing, and had she not been above it she could have imagined the sky was falling on her head.

Celestia, Pinkie thought.

“Huh?”

She said Celestia was “breathing down her neck”. Weren't you listening?

“So? She's made her mind up, me… What can I do?”

Get Celestia to come down here and give her another chance! You can be so dense sometimes, me.

“But I can't get there in ti- ooh, the crystals! Good thinking, me!”

Pinkie Pie set off at a gallop for the far side of Cloudsdale and the building she'd arrived at. It seemed fitting to her that Twilight's invention was going to save Dash's life.

Rainbow Dash held her hooves out before her. Her wings, though aching, still carried her through the air with grace and power. She pushed herself faster, not caring about the pain that was building in her muscles, and smashed into yet another cloud. It exploded outwards, dissipating into the air and fading away into invisibility.

It didn't help. Cloudsmashing usually helped. What had once been a racecourse now lay in tatters, but Dash didn't feel any better.

She screamed, throwing one wing to the side and pointing another at the last cloud in the sky. The residual energy from tearing apart several dozen clouds tore out of her body, forming a lightning arc between her and it. The thunderclap echoed out across the sky, and the one last cloud in the sky was no more.

It didn't help. Dash swooped down over to the viewing stand next to the once-racecourse and ripped a chunk of seating out, carrying it up into the air to hang over Cloudsdale. She sat in silence, watching as pegasi went about their daily lives. Pinkie Pie was there too, galloping through the streets. Dash wanted to go say hi, but she couldn't let herself.

“What the hay is wrong with me,” Dash groaned, cradling her head between her forehooves. There was no answer, either from herself or another. She thought back to that morning.

“Ugh, Twi, what time is it?”

“Uh, I'm not sure,” Twilight groaned, rubbing her eyes with a hoof and squinting around for a clock.

Dash felt to her side, to the half of the bed the librarian usually inhabited. It was cold. “Twi, you've slept, right?”

“No time.”

“Make time.”

“Can't, Celestia'll kill me if I break causality again.”

“That's not what I meant. You can't keep skipping sleep, Twi, not even you.”

“I'm doing fine! I have lots of spells to keep me awake, and they're working just fine.” Twilight yawned again and stumbled over to the side as she walked through her untidy library to find a single scroll in the forest's worth of junk that covered her floor. She half-heartedly laughed to herself. “Ironic, really, that a treehouse is used for this testament to equine wastefulness.”

“Huh?”

“The scrolls, Dash.” Twilight sighed. “So many scrolls.”

Dash rolled over and fell out of bed. She started to do some stretches, waking her body up for the day. She emphasised some of her more provocative motions, trying to catch her lover's eye.

“Have you seen last week's schedule, Dash?” Twilight began to look through one of the piles, lifting books and scrolls alike in her search.

“No. Stop changing the subject, anyway, you need rest. Come on, get to bed, the scrolls'll still be here tonight.”

“No time.”

“What if I take you to bed?”

“No time!” Twilight snapped, slamming her currently lifted tome onto the floor hard enough to cause a bang.

Dash winced. “Come on, Twi, it's been weeks. I'm drying up over here.”

“I'm sorry, Dash, there'll be time later.”

“That's what you said last time. It's always later; everything is always later. I'm getting sick of it, why do I come second to everypony?”

“What are you talking about, Dash?” Twilight didn't look up, too busy searching. “You are- oh, excellent, the schedules! One moment, Dash, I need to note something down.”

Dash leapt, soaring through the air in a perfect arc to strike Twilight between the shoulders and push her down to the floor. Dash began to nibble at the tip of Twilight's ear, moaning quietly between her teeth in anticipation. “Come on, just an hour won't hurt, right?”

“Dash, no!” Twilight snapped, flinging the pegasus off with a magic shunt. “I'm not telling you I don't have time to keep you on edge, I quite literally do not have time.”

“So I come second to a book. I thought you'd gotten past that, Twilight.”

“I don't have time for you.” Twilight closed her eyes, and a second later she was gone. As was everything else. Rainbow Dash found herself dumped unceremoniously outside of what had once felt like her home.

“Horsefeathers,” she spat. “What the- what the hay am I meant to do now.” Dash's head fell and she swallowed deeply, wishing that just this once, her feelings would go along with her saliva. “Maybe Pinkie's free.”

“Maybe Spitfire's right,” Dash said, reflecting inwards upon herself. “Maybe I am just bad at fitting in. Hay, I should apologise.” Dash spread her wings, wincing slightly as one of them fought back, and kicked off her stolen chair to glide back to the Colosseum.

When she touched down on the soft cloud ground, there was nobody else around. The entire stadium seemed deserted, though that was hardly unusual. Dash guessed that Spitfire would be in the main office, and trotted over to the door. It was slightly ajar, and she could hear the conversation inside before she got too close. Spitfire was inside.

“Look, I'm just saying,” Soarin' pleaded with a hint of exasperation in his voice, “Celestia has a point. She's the best damn flier I've ever seen and she can do things with her wings I don't even understand.”

“Yeah,” Spitfire shouted back, “I get it, you want her. Don't bring your damn bedroom politics into my stunt team, Soarin'.”

There was a bang, as if a hoof had been slammed down onto a desk. “That doesn't matter, she's still a damn fine pegasus, and she idolises us. We can make her listen, I'm sure of it.”

“Yeah, and how long do you want? Another month? Another two? All this time we're flying one mare down and our ticket sales keep dropping because we still don't have anything new. No, Celestia be damned. If she wants to lay down the law then let her, but I'm not gonna keep Rainbow Dash around because she whispered in my ear.”

“I'm not gonna change your mind on this one, am I? Right, I see. Who's gonna tell her?”

“I will; it's only fair.”

“Want me to come along?”

“Nah, she's a hothead, but she's not stupid.”

Dash fell backwards. They were talking about her. As quickly as she could tear apart a cloud with her bare hooves, the moisture drained from her mouth and throat. She coughed to try to clear her airways, but it didn't help.

“Oh, hay, did you-”

“No, that was outside.”

The door opened, revealing the captain and co-captain of the Wonderbolts. Soarin's eyes closed and breathed in through his teeth. He turned back, silently walking into the room and leaving Spitfire to walk out towards the still-silent pegasus.

“Dash, we didn't want you to find out like that.”

“I-” Dash coughed again. “You're just… what? Gonna kick me off? You can't, I- please.”

Spitfire shook her head. “I'm sorry, Dash, I really am. You just aren't cut out for this.”

“I am…” Dash's eyes closed in a desperate attempt to keep the tears from spilling out.

“No.”

Dash turned to run, spreading her wings a few steps afterwards and taking off. Spitfire sighed and turned around. “You can come out now,” she called. Soarin' poked his head out of the room a few seconds later.

“I can't believe she heard all that. I hope she doesn't sell it to some gossiper, I'd never live it down.”

“Hey, have some respect, we ju-” Spitfire's words were drowned out as a rainbow-streaked explosion rocked the sky. The clouds beneath their hooves trembled from the force of it and the sky filled with a bright and angry spectrum.

“I'm sure this isn't necessary,” Celestia said, in her typical soothing royal tones. “Rainbow Dash is an exceptional mare, and whatever happens she will prevail.”

Pinkie jumped behind her and began to push, forcing the princess out and into Cloudsdale. There were a few ponies gathered now, all of whom bowed at her presence. “Nuh uh, Dash is in real trouble, and- oh, there she is!”

Rainbow Dash streaked overhead, building up speed as she went. She was too high above them to hear Pinkie's calls, not that she would have responded had she heard them. The concentric rings of her trademark sonic rainboom were visible for a few moments before the shockwave hit, dissolving the awkwardly designed travel building as if it were made of nothing but fluffy clouds in a thunderstorm.

Pinkie raised her hooves to shield herself from the blast, falling backwards as the ground vanished from beneath her. Her four horseshoes seemed to evaporate, disintegrating into the air with a quiet explosion as she dropped. She watched Dash dart off into the distance for several seconds, falling further with each one. Another second passed and Celestia caught her.

“Oh dear, this is worse than I'd hoped.” Celestia carried Pinkie over to the nearest unaffected area, before dropping her on her back; without those horseshoes, she'd need support to stay among the clouds. The city itself was constructed of highly compacted cloud that could resist a shockwave like that, so long as it was far enough away. The newly constructed parts didn't have that luxury, and melted away into the wind.

“Where's she going?”

“Ponyville, I would have thought. I think she's going to need you more than ever now, Pinkie Pie.” Celestia turned and slowly walked further into Cloudsdale. Pinkie rode atop, comfortably resting on the princess's neck. “There are times in all of our lives that are the most testing, and I think this is Rainbow Dash's.”

“What should I do?”

“You're the lucky one, Pinkie. When Laughter is tested, it only has to hold strong to emerge victorious. You can bring a smile to anypony's face, and Dash is going to need that now. Her loyalties are to be tested, but for her to make it through this she's going to have to choose which of those loyalties is most important. She's going to need more than just a smile to get through that, but the smile will help.”

“Can't you do anything?”

“Perhaps I could, but I will not. My subjects rarely thank me for meddling in their personal lives, and this is a lesson Rainbow Dash will have to learn for herself.”

“Where are we going, princess?” Pinkie asked; their winding path between houses and down streets didn't appear to be leading anywhere in particular.

“Ponyville, my dear. For now, though, I find it's always best to have difficult conversations while walking. It makes the awkward pauses so much more palatable.”

“Ohmygosh, you're right! We need to get to Ponyville before Dash so we can calm her down! Teleport!” Pinkie's hindleg kicked against Celestia's flank to spur her on.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Does Twilight Sparkle no longer share the contents of my letters as freely as she once did?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, it can be so hard to watch you all grow up, making the same mistakes I've seen a thousand times before. I can't teleport to Ponyville; Twilight's crystals create too much magical interference. I keep urging her to move her hub, but she refuses to listen. It's deeply concerning to me, but unfortunately I cannot force Twilight to do anything.”

“Sure you can! You're the princess; we have to do everything you say!”

Celestia smiled. “I long for your naivety, Pinkie Pie. Commanding solves nothing. Twilight would do as I asked if I asked her strongly, but she would learn nothing and would make the same mistakes again. As much as it pains me, I must allow everypony to make their own mistakes.”

“What mistake has she made?”

“It's complex and magical; I wouldn't want to give you the wrong id-”

“Please, princess, I'm her friend. I don't want anything bad to happen to her.”

Celestia sighed and looked around, ensuring they were alone. “Very well. Twilight Sparkle is not just a unicorn. In many senses, she is the unicorn. Magic doesn't come naturally to her; it comes naturally from her. This is why she struggled so to learn it, because no teacher could possibly understand what she can do. Not even I can truly know that feeling. While I held her element, I did so as a guest—she is its true home.”

Pinkie nodded. “She makes me feel different to normal unicorns.”

“Yes, as a bearer of harmony you have a tight link to her. You can feel a fraction of what it means to be her.”

“So what's she done wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. She has achieved greater heights than any other living pony, and is destined to shine brighter than Equestria has ever known. Right now, however, her experiments are rough and inefficient. Her crystals, though beyond anypony else's understanding—including my own—are upsetting the balance of magic.”

“What does that mean?”

“As I said, it's complex and magical. I'm not sure anybody but Twilight could truly understand it. I can merely guess from what little I can see from millennia of practise. For her, it's a birthright. Whatever is happening, though, it is not good for her. You've noticed a change in her behaviour too, haven't you?”

Pinkie nodded.

“Her letters have changed noticeably in tone. They're taking longer to send, too, though I don't know how that's possible. Yet she cannot see it, and refuses to accept that I am right. That in and of itself is deeply concerning to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

Celestia shook her head and spread her wings, beating them to propel both of them into the air. “I don't know.” They flew, following the faded rainbow trail to its destination. Even weakened, Rainbow Dash was faster than Celestia could hope to be, but she had no other choice.

“Now, what the hay's this commotion about?” Applejack stood in Ponyville's town square. Beside her was an upturned cart of not-so-fresh apples, blown over by something entirely unexpected.

“Why, I have no idea,” Rarity replied, staring over at the now-collapsed crystal nexus. “It just seems to have exp-” Rarity's voice cut out as a second explosion blew out of the destroyed building. She fell to her hooves in agony as the magical aftershock flowed through her horn.

Applejack immediately jumped to her side. “Rarity, you okay? Rarity? Aw horseapples, somepony he-” Applejack's voice cut out as she looked around the square. There wasn't a single unicorn still standing, every last one was at best on their knees. Even the pegasi seemed to be struggling to stay in the air, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little weaker.

“Apple… Applejack, what-”

“Ssh, Rarity, it's okay. It's gonna be just fine.”

Twilight Sparkle chose that moment to stumble out of a teleport a few feet away from them. “What just happened? I felt something happen.”

“Y'all's building just exploded, Twilight! Then Rarity here collapsed!”

“Oh gosh, Rarity! Are you okay?”

“I- I think so. Darlings, that was simply awful, I feared for my life. I think I can stand now-” Rarity attempted to struggle to her hooves, managing to stand after using Applejack as a support- “Yes, I'm okay. Goodness gracious, Twilight, what was that? It felt as if my horn were aflame. You aren't keeping Dash locked up in there again, are you?”

“No, no she's… somewhere. Doesn't matter. I… need to go look at that building, see what happened.”

As Twilight walked over to the wreckage, Applejack busied herself helping unicorns stand. They all seemed to have mostly recovered, and the pegasi were flying as strongly as ever. Whatever had happened would appear to be over, and the only casualty was Applejack's applecart. “Help me pick some of these up will you, Rarity?”

“Of course, Darling.” Rarity concentrated on a small selection of apples, hoping to pick them up and deposit them in the cart. Applejack made short work of returning it to its rightful position resting on four wheels. The apples flew off into the distance.

“The uh, the cart's right here, Rarity.”

“Dreadfully sorry, darling, I don't know what came over me. I have been having more trouble with magic these last few months, but Twilight assured me it was nothing.”

“Well, if ya'll can avoid cracking my apples wide open on that there wall, that'd be appreciated.” Applejack began to pick apples up between her teeth and drop them in the cart while Rarity, much more carefully, raised bunches.

“It's… strange, this feels easier than it should be.” She looked over to the purple bookworm currently inspecting the building. Any pride she may have felt in her magical prowess evaporated as she watched the unicorn lift the building into the air and rearrange the pieces, inspecting each one in turn.

“Yeah, I bet it'd be easier for her. Gotta admit, Rarity, that mare scares me sometimes. The things somepony less honourable could do with what she can do, y'hear?”

Rarity nodded. “Twilight, darling?” Her voice was raised as loud as was socially acceptable for calling across a town square.

The librarian looked back. “Yes, Rarity?” she called, amplifying her normal speaking voice with magic to the point it echoed through off the buildings surrounding them.

“Did whatever just happened affect my magic?”

Twilight shrugged. “I have no idea what just happened.” She set the pieces of the building down approximately where she'd found them and walked back over. “The crystals are just gone. I don't understand; that shouldn't be possible. What did it look like when they exploded?”

“Rainbow-y, sorta like Rainbow's move 'cept it nearly blew us off our feet.”

Twilight's face clenched in thought. “It- impossible. There isn't enough magic in them to do that. Un- unless Dash… no, she wouldn't.”

“What?”

Twilight sighed. “Unless Dash performed a Sonic Rainboom within the immediate vicinity of one of the relay hubs, which would cause a magical feedback loop throughout the entire system. But she wouldn't. She knows that would happen, and besides, she knows she can't do that sort of thing in populated areas.”

“Well, looks like now's your chance to ask, darling,” Rarity said, pointing behind her at the multicoloured streak arching across the sky. Rainbow Dash began to slow as she glided down to swoop through the open bedroom window of her treehouse. Twilight closed the window. Dash swerved at the last second and managed to salvage a landing just in front of the library, slowly trotting to a stop a few feet away from the awaiting mares.

“Hey, Dash,” Twilight said.

“Hey. What'd you close the window for?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Great, you didn't need to talk to me this morning. Or any morning. Or any evening, either, come to think of it.”

“H- hey, that's not fair. I've been busy.” Twilight's voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

“I'm busy too; I still at least try to make time for you. If you'd let me,” Dash spat.

“I'm… I'm sorry, Dash. You're right, I've been selfish.”

“Yeah.”

“That won't be a problem now, though, at least not for a while. Which is kinda what I had to talk to you about. Where did you just fly from?” Twilight spoke calmly and clearly, trying to ignore the turmoil of emotion within her head.

“Cloudsdale, obviously. That's where I've been all day, unless you didn't care.”

Twilight tried her best to ignore that. The emotional part of her brain was already overloaded. “Did you do a sonic rainboom in Cloudsdale?”

“I can't remember. Maybe? Probably? What does it matter.”

“Dash, you know why it matters. Did you do it?”

“Yeah, alright, I did it.”

“Why? Oh, Dash, that's months of development time ruined! I don't even know what the long-term effects of that could be! Dash, I made you promise, how could you do this to me?”

“Well, you promised never to take me for granted. Y'know, your wedding vows?”

“I-”

“Now, just wait one apple-picking minute, Dash, what's brought this on? I don't know what's going on between you two, but that's just cruel.”

“No, you wanna know what's cruel, AJ? Twilight Sparkle meant the world to me. Everything was perfect, and everything's gone wrong.”

“What are you talking about, dear?”

“I'm- I've been- I'm not… Everything's ruined. I can't take it anymore, okay? I can't take not waking up to the mare that loved me, I can't take setting off every morning without even a goodbye, I can't stand the way she looks at me like I can do anything, when I can't. When I just can't. I can't take spending every day feeling like I'm disappointing somepony who I'm not sure even remembers who I'm trying for.” Dash closed her eyes, but they didn't do much to hide the tears.

“Dash, what are you saying?” Twilight whispered. “I know I've been distant lately, but that's only because I was busy and I thought you needed the space. I- I can't talk to you these days, everything makes you mad. I- I thought it was me, I thought if I gave you some space you'd be okay. I just didn't know what to do, I'm sorry! Please don't-”

“So it's my fault now? Is that what you're saying?”

“No, I-”

“Great, real great, Twi. I just can't do this anymore, okay? See you around.” Dash spread her wings and flew, achieving yet another Sonic Rainboom a few seconds later, clearing the sky of clouds, and heading off in some direction Twilight neither recognised nor fully comprehended. In the depths of her library, one of the crystals caught the shockwave and transmitted it to the sister-crystal lying some few feet away. The two began to resonate.

“Can't you fly any faster, princess?” Pinkie said, gripping tightly onto the white body.

Celestia gasped. “No- I haven't… Haven't flown this much for three hundred years. A little out of shape.”

“Look, there's Ponyville! C'mon, princess, just a little more!” Pinkie kicked her hindlegs into the princess's side, spurring on a slight increase in speed. The princess was too exhausted to complain and simply thanked herself that there was nobody around to see.

Ponyville slowly grew larger as they neared. It was not, however, the Ponyville Pinkie had left. One of the buildings seemed to be in tatters, barely even resembling its former self. Much worse, another building appeared to be on fire. A building that was also a tree. The smoke rose up into the air to tarnish the sky.

The instant Celestia set hoof on the ground, Pinkie bounced off and ran for the town centre. There was a small crowd surrounding the burning library, and pegasi swarmed above it trying desperately to gather enough cloud-mass to douse the flames. Pinkie jumped over the crowd and spotted Applejack.

“Applejack! What happened?”

“I ain't quite sure on that one myself, Pinkie.”

“Oh, it's simply terrible! Why, next time I see that ruffian of a pony Rainbow Dash I'll be forced to give her a piece of my mind. Leaving Twilight in such a state! How could she?”

“Dash… left? To where?”

Rarity wiped her brow with a theatrical hoof. “Why, we don't know. Twilight is in a frightful state, though. I took her back to the boutique, but she just wanted to be alone. Honestly, I don't blame her.”

Celestia caught up with them. The crowd parted to allow her through. As she walked, her tired wings spread and her horn lit up, easily matching the ferocity of the flames that preyed on the wooden branches and organic leaves of the tree before her. The sky darkened as clouds began to form, and soon the entire village was doused in an unprecedented downpour.

“Oh, my mane!” Rarity squealed, taking off at a gallop towards her boutique. The crowd began to disperse, running for their own homes to escape the torrential rains. The flames, however, did begin to falter.

“Well that sure solves that problem,” Applejack shouted, almost being drowned out by the constant rainstorm.

A minute—or less—later and the fires were extinguished. Celestia called off her assault, clearing the sky once more and revealing a large gathering of jealous pegasi. Though the fires were gone, the treehouse was not a pretty sight.

“Horseapples,” Applejack whispered, staring upon what had once been a proud centrepiece to the village. The branches were darkened and charred, the leaves were mostly ash and whatever made the tree into a home—doors, windows, balconies—looked closer to condemned than livable.

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure. “Come, Twilight Sparkle will need you.”

When they arrived at Rarity's boutique, they found Twilight sitting silently on Rarity's couch. She stared across the room, unseeing, and didn't make a sound. Rarity wore her mane long and straightened. “It was all I could do on such short notice,” she explained. “I'll style it properly later.”

“Ya'll can shut up about your hair, Rarity, how's Twilight?”

“Oh, the poor darling. She hasn't said a thing. I think she's in shock.”

Pinkie walked over, ensuring Twilight could see her coming and she wouldn't be an unwanted surprise. “Twilight? Are you- do you want to talk?”

Twilight shook her head in tiny, timid movements.

“Okay. I'm here—we're all here. When you need us.”

Pinkie walked back over to the others. “She looks awful.”

Celestia looked away. “Heartbreak is a feeling we all must learn some day. I had hoped Twilight would be an exception to this, as she is so many other rules, but fate is a higher council than mine.”

“But like this? Oh, the cruelty of it all! Rainbow Dash was her darling. It breaks my heart to see her like this.”

“I hope all those books weren't originals,” Applejack chimed in.

“They're okay,” Twilight said. “The books, I mean. They're fine. They will be, anyway. They were enchanted, fire wouldn't touch them.” She spoke mechanically and without feeling, relaying only the facts.

“That's something, I guess,” Applejack replied.

“Not my notes, though. They weren't. They're gone.”

“Then you'll be glad to know I keep copies of all our correspondence, Twilight,” Celestia said in a voice so soothing it made her usual tones seem rough and acidic.

“Not the most recent stuff, I didn't send that to you. It's… it's gone.” Twilight broke into a whisper. “It's all gone.” A single tear fell from the corner of one eye. “Oh, what am I going to do?”

“Y'know, Twi, when an apple falls out of the tree, that ain't the end for it. That's just the start of a whole new life. Don't think yours is over just 'cos you've fallen down.”

“That's… My life. My work and Dash; that was it. That was all I had. Now it- it's gone? Just like that?” Twilight looked over at her friends and mentor. Her eyes were wide and questioning, as if one of them replying “No, it can't happen like that.” could undo the day's events. “That tree was my home, where am I going to stay? What if Spike had been home?”

“You can stay here as long as you wish, Twilight,” Rarity assured her. “Celestia can send a letter to Spike and he can be here for you too as soon as he can. We're your friends, Twilight, you aren't alone in this.”

“Thank you, Rarity.” Twilight was silent for a few seconds. “She- she didn't even say why. She didn't even say what I'd done. Why I deserve all this. What did I do?” Twilight's voice grew less controlled as her tears began to flow more freely.

“It wasn't you, Twilight,” Pinkie said. “She just got kicked out of the Wonderbolts. I think she's hurting just as much as you right now. Please don't be too hard on her. I couldn't live with seeing you two hate each other.”

“I could never hate her. I love her. I wake up in the morning for her. She's my everything! W- was. I'm going to have to get used to past tense. Oh, Celestia, what do I do?”

“I don't know, Twilight. What you do now is your decision. Know one thing, however—I took you as my student for a reason, and it wasn't for your love life. No matter what happens, you will always be an amazingly talented mare, and academic setbacks like losing a few notes won't ever change that.”

“I can't… Princess, I can't,” Twilight cried. She spat out her words in what time between sobs she could grasp.

“Of course you can, my dear. I won't ever stop believing in you.”

“No, I mean, I can't. I close my eyes to try to concentrate and all I see is her flying away from me. I couldn't stop her. I couldn't save my library, even though I know the spells. Every time I try and cast anything, all I can think about is her. I- I can't do it. It hurts, princess, it hurts too much.”

“Yes. Yes, it does.”