The Wind Beneath Her Wings

Timeline: Four Months Later

"Rainbow Dash, sit still!" Rarity shrieked, shaking her hoof in mid air and threateningly brandishing the collection of pins, needles, and pieces of cloth held in her delicate magical grip. "I cannot work if you insist on fidgeting in every waking moment. Honestly, this is worse than measuring you!"

Rainbow Dash sat as still as she could bear on the main podium of Rarity's boutique. That was to say, she was not very still at all, but she was trying. Resting over her body almost as elegantly as a stream of air could flow over it lay the most exciting dress Dash had ever worn—her wedding dress. It had been a long road to get to this point, but all that was over now.

"Rainbow Dash, sit still!" Rarity yelled, advancing on her cyan prey with an evil glint in her eye and a collection of sewing needles in her grip. They surrounded the terrified pegasus, boxing her in and slowly backing her into a wall from which she would have no escape.

"Rarity! Leave me alone!" Dash shouted, while snapping her head from side to side looking for an exit, but finding nothing. The air was thick with thin metal spikes; instruments whose only use could be torture and destruction, by Dash's reckoning. Seeing no exit, she took another step back to stay away from her clearly insane friend for another second. "Twilight!" she called, "Help!"

"Twilight isn't coming, darling. I simply need to measure you," Rarity insisted, brandishing a thin strip of ice-cold metal like a pegasus might brandish a spear.

"No! Away!" Dash shouted. She hadn't realised that measuring would be so invasive—she'd pictured herself standing in front of a wall and having various heights marked, maybe a bit of complimenting on how lean her body was or how muscular her legs were. She hadn't expected to be immediately set upon by great metal spikes and rods, like Rarity's boutique was just a front for some perverse torture chamber.

Dash's tail brushed against the wall. She was as far back as she could be. Rarity was right—there was no escape—and suddenly running had been crossed off of her "options" list. The one remaining choice was "fight".

Dash nervously laughed. "Yeeeah, that won't happen again," she promised, "how was I to know those things were for my hair? And that measuring tape is really really cold, you should have warned me!"

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity sternly said, "I cannot believe you would blame me for your not knowing basic fashion techniques! Why, you're lucky I measured you at all after what you did. My tail is still growing back lopsided."

Dash awkwardly scratched the back of her neck and muttered something close to an apology. Her hoof knocked against her now perfectly-styled mane, displacing it and pushing one of the supporting mane ties free, letting her flowing hair flow, undoing much of the morning's work.

Rarity twitched.

"Twilight, it'll be fine!" Applejack soothingly said, offering her support while Fluttershy went about the difficult task of properly dressing Twilight. Rarity had, of course, designed and made the dress herself, but the group had decided that it was best if she dressed Dash when it finally came to the day. In case anything went wrong, like it had in all of the practise runs.

"It wasn't fine last time!" Twilight snapped, her eyes filled with worry and concern. "Maybe I should go check on them, ma-"

"No!" Fluttershy exclaimed, stopping her delicate work styling Twilight's tail. "You aren't allowed to see her until the ceremony! It's against the rules!"

"But-"

"Now now, no buts, Twilight," Applejack cut in, "Y'all wanted a traditional ceremony and that's how we're gonna do it."

Twilight stayed silent, but her imagination ran free with images of all the terrible things that could happen. Dash could have another misunderstanding and end up hurting herself again, or the dress could get torn, or Rarity could finally snap and refuse to re-do her mane for the dozenth time that morning, or-

"Twilight, will you stop worrying?" Applejack interjected, seeing the worried unicorn's face. "It'll be fine."

"But she always comes and sees me when she's done..." Twilight trailed off, realising how whiny she sounded.

"Not today, sugar, because this ain't practise," Applejack replied. Quite how she'd gotten the job of moral support she wasn't sure, but she'd be damned if she was going to let a friend suffer. "Just calm down, you've planned everything, nothing's gonna go wrong now."

Twilight sighed and nodded. "You're right, Applejack, everything's going to be just fine."

"Run!" Dash yelled, motioning to the door to tell Rarity to get out. She followed as quickly as she could manage without disturbing her dress, reaching speeds almost comparable to a brisk saunter. She made the mistake of looking behind herself and saw the waves of molten icing quickly catching up to her. If it reached her, the dress—and thus day—would be ruined. This was unacceptable. She shuffled with all her might, cursing the restrictive clothing and wishing she could break out into a gallop without having to worry about the long train catching on anything.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity yelled, "You've ruined my shop! Oh, of all the possible things!" she moaned, theatrically raising a hoof to the heavens. "There's nothing else for it, we'll simply have to finish you up out here, Rainbow. Rainbow?" Rarity looked around for the almost captive pegasus, but saw nothing.

"Rarity!" Dash yelled, catching her attention—she was still inside the boutique! Rarity quickly leaped into action, calmly strolling into the store and picking up the train in her mouth so Dash could move a little faster and escape the oncoming tide of misplaced ingredient. Together, they managed to outrun the flood and escape out into the open.

"That's the spirit, Twi, they're probably just worrying about us!" Applejack replied with a grin. "Now, who wants an apple?"

"Oh, no thank you, I still have all of this make-up to do," Fluttershy said.

"Make-up? I don't think that's really necessary, is it?"

"Oh yes! Rarity says it's essential. She made me promise. You wouldn't make me break a promise, would you Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, looking down at the floor and scraping her hoof against it. Twilight sighed and shook her head—make-up it was.

At least everything Dash's end would surely be going to plan. She'd made Rarity promise.

"Make-up?! Nuh-uh. The hair was pushing it, no way am I wearing make-up."

"Oh, but you must! It's essential! What will you say when you show the wedding photographs to your foals and they ask why mommy looks so dull and lifeless?!"

Rainbow Dash stared at her unamused.

"You're wearing it."

"Nuh-uh."

"But your mane looks unbalanced without it! It's an important part of your look, and it simply won't work without it. Why, I'd go as far as to say that Twilight should be embarrassed to be seen with you without it."

"Really?" Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, obviously not as you normally are, darling. For whatever reason she seems to like that rats nest you call a mane, and I have to admit it does have some charm—purely aesthetic, of course—but that's beside the point! The style I have chosen for you requires make-up, and there isn't enough time to change it." Rarity leaned inside the boutique and picked up a few choice pots, containers, and brushes, brandishing them in front of a slightly irritated bride-to-be.

"Please do keep calm," Rarity soothingly whispered as she started to apply a carefully chosen foundation to the almost-unwilling face in front of her. "We don't want a repeat of the first time we tried this, do we?"

"Eugh! This tastes awful!" Dash gagged and pawed at her tongue to try and scrape the terrible powder away.

"W- why would you eat it?!" Rarity asked, completely bemused. "That is a cosmetic, not confection. Do you ever listen?"

"Yeah! You said this one wouldn't cake on my coat, and uh, I kinda stopped listening at 'cake'," Dash sheepishly replied. If she were honest with herself she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing there. It was the first time she'd spent any real time with the town's seamstress, having arrived there only a few weeks earlier in search of work, and something she couldn't quite place.

She'd found the first; A stroke of luck brought her to Ponyville just as a member of the local weather team left, and after a short interview she was given the place—not a temporary position like all the other places she'd worked since leaving Flight School, but a proper position. The second still eluded her, only partially because she still wasn't sure what it really was; some compulsion to be there, for some reason she couldn't understand.

"No, dear, this is make-up. It's there to make you look prettier," Rarity explained. She didn't have a great many friends who appreciated looking good, and she was hoping this newcomer would.

"Uh, that's not really my thing," Dash said.

"Oh, a little can't hurt, right? You showed me what you can do, it's only fair if I do the same, right?" Rarity replied. It was true, Dash had taken the opportunity to show off a few moves in the interests of impressing people around her, but she hadn't expected it to turn out like this.

"S- sure, can't hurt!" she said. What was the worst that could happen?

"Aaaagh! It burns!" Dash yelled, rolling around on the floor and kicking wildly with her legs. "Get it off!"

"It's just make-up dear, there's nothing to worry about."

"Aaaagh!" Dash shrieked, barrelling out of the nearest open window and flying straight into the nearest cloud, dousing her face in a torrent of water and washing away the burning, itching powder.

Rarity shook her head and looked down at the pot, noticing a slight wrinkle on the label. Intrigued, she pulled at it and found it was barely affixed—and under it lay another. It was chilli powder. Who would do such a thing?

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity yelled, "Where are you? You have ruined my boutique!"

As if by magic, Pinkie poked her head around the door. Her mane was covered in a thick layer of frosting, another glob of which rested on the tip of her nose. She turned around and stared into the ruined room, taking in the devastation and destruction with her wide eyes and open nose. She slowly knelt, as if staring the sweet down. She opened her mouth and scraped her tongue across the floor in a single long sweep.

"No I didn't, I made it tasty!" she exclaimed, bouncing back up and cartwheeling out into the open air, shedding frosting from her mane as she went. Rarity immediately went into dress-protection mode, throwing up an inexpert, but enthusiastic, magic shield between the baked bandit and the damsel in a dress.

"I didn't know you could do that, Rare," Dash said, marvelling at the frosting hovering mere inches in front of her nose; the threat to her attire dealt with. Rarity had not been so lucky; the icing stuck to her mane like leeches blemishing perfect skin, her new sweet and sugary coating providing the perfect counterpoint for her sour mood.

"Pinkie, I am trying very hard to give our friend the perfect day, so can you please be calm for once in your life?" Rarity pleaded, all but dropping to her knees and begging.

"There, all done!" Fluttershy said, before hopping in front of Twilight and pulling over a mirror. Twilight looked at herself and gasped; Rarity had outdone herself. The plain white dress hung over her body like the finest silk, as light as a cobweb but as striking as anything else. Her hooves were adorned with frilled white cuffs, and her tail shot out from a tiny hole in the back, making the dress seem small and form-fitting rather than having the large rear so many other dresses suffered from. On her head rested a thin, almost transparent white veil, held in place by golden fastenings on her ears and horn, with a single lily carefully woven into one side.

"Fluttershy, it's gorgeous!" Twilight exclaimed, carefully turning around to her more fashion-inclined friend and slowly nuzzling her on the cheek. It wouldn't do to mess up the dress now.

"Twilight!" said Applejack as she walked back into the room with a steaming apple pie resting on her back. "You look lovely. Why, I'd go as far as to say that Rainbow's gonna have a hard time remembering her lines!" Applejack bucked the pie onto the top of a nearby dresser and raised a hoof to wipe a single tiny tear from one eye. "This reminds me of that time my brother almost got hitched."

"You mean to Cheerilee?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. "That love potion thing Applebloom cooked up?"

"Well, yeah, but they still looked as happy as apples to me. You and Dash remind me of that. Heh, never thought it'd be you getting wed before Rarity."

"And what's that meant to mean?" Twilight asked.

"Well, just y'know. You weren't really much of a romantic back then, never figured you'd be one for marrying."

Twilight sighed. "Neither did I, but Dash didn't really give me much choice. I do love her, of course I do, and I couldn't say no to her even if it's a bit fast."

"Oh dear, you aren't getting cold hooves, are you?" Fluttershy squeaked, taking a break from smelling the sweet aroma of the freshly baked pie. Her ears fell and her eyes began to water in anticipation.

"No! No, Celestia no," Twilight quickly responded, trying to assuage her friends' fears. "I love her, and I want to be with her for the rest of my life, but we're moving faster than most and not as fast as the couples in most of my books. There aren't any resources on how to deal with this."

"Oh, is that all, sugar? How many times do we need to tell you, you don't need a book to tell you how to feel. Just listen to your heart, it'll tell you."

"Great. Got a heart to Equestrian phrase book in one of those drawers?" Twilight snarked. "I just don't want to screw this up. It seems to mean so much to Dash that I want to be perfect, and I don't know how to do that."

"Oh, Twilight," Fluttershy said, "I've known Dash since I was just a tiny little baby, and she's always had criticisms of everything and everyone—even you—but I haven't heard her say one bad thing about the wedding. I think she'll think it's perfect just because you're there, and you should stop worrying so much!" She ended with a light strike of her hoof against the wooden dresser, almost—but not quite—making a noise. "But that's just my opinion," she muttered.

"Thanks," Twilight replied. "I guess I'm just going to have to do my best."

"That's my girl, Twilight. Now, who wants some pie?"

"Hey Pinkie," Dash said, "How's the catering coming?"

"Well," she replied, "there's been a teensy issue with making a little too much frosting."

"Gosh, really? Why don't you tell me about it?" Rarity said, rolling her eyes and continuing to brush Dash's mane and ensure it was completely perfect. They had a train to catch and the unruly hair simply couldn't be allowed to roam free.

"Well, I looked at all the cakes we were going to need and realised we'd need a lot of icing, so I thought I'd make all that first, but I accidentally made enough icing to cover all the guests, not all the cakes!" Pinkie cheerfully replied. Rarity twitched, but continued to brush.

"So, are the cakes ready? We kinda need to go soon," Dash asked.

"Oh yes, they're all ready! Just gotta carry them all to the train!"

"...yourself?" Rarity asked, dumbfounded both that Pinkie would leave such a crucial step to Pinkie Pie.

"No, silly, I have a tray!"

"Hurry!" Applejack shouted, running down the cold stone station floor to the waiting train. Fluttershy and Twilight followed a little behind; Fluttershy because she was naturally cautious, and Twilight because she was concentrating so hard on keeping herself absolutely perfect, holding things in place with magic grips and trotting along at a brisk pace. The train to Canterlot was about to leave, and they had to be on it—the next train wouldn't be until that evening, well after the wedding was over.

"Oh, Twilight, we can't risk you seeing Rainbow before the ceremony! Hurry onto the train, quickly!" Fluttershy insisted, pointing at the waiting carriage door as she flew towards it, leading Twilight in. They had booked the first and last room on the train—the front one for Twilight and friends, and the back one for Dash and friends. The timing was critical, they couldn't be allowed to enter the train at the same time lest they see each other and ruin the entire event. Little did Twilight know, that wasn't going to be a problem.

Shortly after they entered, the train pulled out of the station and began its long journey to Canterlot. Twilight sat on one of the chairs and relaxed. There was nothing to do after the train set off, that was the end of the preparation. From here, it would be plain sailing.

"What?!" Dash shouted. "What do you mean we missed the train?"

"I was putting all the cakes on it, and then I came back to find you, and now it's gone!" Pinkie explained.

"So the cakes are on the train?" Rarity asked.

"Nope! Some are, but they're lonely now," Pinkie replied, losing her smile at the thought of her cakes going friendless.

"And we aren't?"

"Well, duh."

"Girls! Shut up and stop arguing," Dash yelled, "When's the next train?"

"Not until tonight, I'm afraid. We could get a carriage, but that could take hours longer than the train. Oh, I'm sorry Rainbow, there's no way to get there on time without the train."

"Then we fly." Rainbow Dash flared her wings beneath the dress, pushing it outwards. "Damn, I can't get any air in this thing. I knew I should've argued."

"No! You'll ruin your mane, I can't allow it!" Rarity protested, stomping her hoof at the very thought of her morning's work being ruined. "You'll just have to be late."

"No." The determined pegasus's wings tore through the once-beautiful material, spreading themselves ready for flight. Rarity fainted as her gorgeous dress was ruined in an instant. "I'm not being late for my own wedding. Nuh-uh. I have bad experiences with that. We're going, now. Pinkie, grab Rarity and jump on my back."

"Yes ma'am!" Pinkie exclaimed, stifling a giggle as she pulled the unconscious white unicorn onto her back and jumped aboard. The cakes soon followed, balanced on Pinkie's outstretched leg like an absurd circus trick.

By the time Rarity awoke from her shocked slumber, the trio were high in the sky and well on their way to the capital. The skies were clear and the weather was fair; the sun stood tall, watching over everything and keeping everyone warm. The farmlands and fields beneath them streaked past, and the wind rushed past them.

"Rainbow, your mane!" Rarity exclaimed, mere moments after opening her eyes to find the sorry sight of Dash's hair flowing through the breeze. "And your dress! Oh, it's all ruined!" Rarity did her best to produce a theatrical flourish of desperation without toppling from her determined steed.

Dash gritted her teeth and ignored the complaints. She didn't have a choice, and her mane was just an unfortunate casualty of that. It didn't really suit her anyway.

Rarity looked away, trying not to think about the careless destruction of her hard work, and stared into the distance. After a few moment she spotted a moving pillar of smoke winding around the mountain—the train! "Dash, it looks like they're almost there, can't you go a little faster? Why, just last week you were boasting about doing this in 'five minutes'!"

"Alone!" Dash snapped, "Under perfect conditions, and when I didn't mind anypony seeing the shockwave! I'm going as fast as I can, alright?" Her voice was hard and harsh and laced with both anger and determination. She stole a look at the train, but immediately regretted it. Every moment brought it closer to Canterlot, and closer to her being late. Her wings began to beat a little harder, and she felt her two passengers cling on a little tighter. Pinkie's cake tray was almost vertical, relying only on the wind to keep the cakes in place unharmed.

"Don't worry, Dash! Twilight'll understand if you're late!" Pinkie supportively patted Dash on the back with a free hoof, realising only moments later that she needed that hoof to cling on for dear life.

"It's not that," Dash grunted through still-gritted teeth, "I just really don't wanna be late."

"Do you... want to talk about it, dear?" Rarity offered.

"No."

"Tea?" Fluttershy asked, holding a steaming teapot in her outstretched hoof. The train, despite moving at a considerable speed across rough terrain, provided a smooth and unremarkable ride. As they circled around one of the mountains near Canterlot, they occasionally caught a glimpse of the great city. Fluttershy and Applejack still stood in awe of its sheer scale and majesty, and though Twilight had lived there most of her life she still had a healthy appreciation for its splendour.

"Yes please," Twilight replied. "We'll be there soon. Oh, I hope it goes well. Dash has been so tense about it lately, I hope she's okay."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Applejack asked.

"I've tried, she won't admit anything's wrong. I don't understand her sometimes, Applejack. Sometimes she wants this so badly, and other times it's like she can't wait to get it over with. I know she doesn't think I notice, but she's barely slept these last few nights." Twilight looked down and stirred her tea with an errant thought, trying to distract herself from the obvious implications. "What if she do-"

"No!" Fluttershy squeaked. "It's not that! Just leave her alone and she'll be okay!" Fluttershy threw her hooves to her mouth in embarrassment as she realised how loud she'd been talking, and how surprised looking her two friends were. She tried to make herself look small and hid behind one of the carriage seats.

"I can't leave her alone, Fluttershy, I'm marrying her. She should be able to talk to me! If she can't rely on me, then-"

"Please, Twilight. Just don't blame her," Fluttershy whispered, just loudly enough to catch their attentions.

"You know something, don't you?" Applejack asked, being very careful not to accuse anything. "I'm sure Rainbow wouldn't mind Twilight knowing, right?"

"Well, um... she made me promise not to say anything."

"Oh, I'm sure that doesn't count any more! We don't keep secrets from each other!" The last sentence somehow managed to be both a statement of intent and a threat, and as much as Twilight didn't want to scare the yellow-bellied pegasus, she had to know what could keep Rainbow Dash, the bravest pony she knew, up all night fretting.

"It's not my story to tell," she whimpered.

"Twilight," Applejack said, "maybe you sho-"

"No! No, I have to know. Fluttershy, you have to understand, I just want to help her. I can't do that if she won't tell me what's wrong, so if you know then please. I don't know how I can marry somepony that can't even talk to me."

"Aagh!" Fluttershy screamed, emitting a quiet whine barely audible above the engine chatter and scraping of wheel on track from below. "It's because she loves you!"

"She's worried about marrying me, irritable and snappy, and can't sleep, because she loves me? Well, thanks for that revelation, Fluttershy. I thought she proposed because we were really good friends," Twilight snapped, finding her temper particularly short and her veil skew-whiff. If Fluttershy really knew something, it was coming out one way or another.

"It's her parents," Fluttershy whispered, shrinking down into the seat as she went. Twilight craned her neck over to keep her eyes on the fleeing pony. "She doesn't talk about them much, but I think she blames their wedding for everything that happened."

Twilight suddenly realised that not only had she never met Dash's parents, she knew nothing about them. Though she'd never thought to ask, they'd never been mentioned. Her fiancé's childhood tales were always ones of trying to make it alone. When she dropped out of Flight School she went travelling rather than simply going back home, for Celestia's sake. Twilight began to feel very stupid that the thought hadn't ever crossed her mind. "I- I don't know what happened. She never mentioned them." Twilight sighed and sat back down in her seat, staring blindly out of the window but completely ignoring the beauty she might have marvelled at were she in a better mood.

"O- oh. I'm sorry, Twilight, she doesn't like talking about them. She acts tough, but underneath I think she just needs somebody to support her."

"That's meant to be me, not you," Twilight muttered. "No offence," she quickly added.

"It was a long time ago, I just think she doesn't want to open old wounds. I only know about them because she mentioned them when we were fillies. You'll have to ask her if you want to know the rest, it's not my place to say. Just please don't blame her for it."

Twilight nodded and gave a tight smile in return, before staring out of the window to watch as the train turned its final loop and began the last leg of the journey, just a few miles from Canterlot. The train juddered and vibrated as the engine up front sped up; its internal flames roared high from a combination of coal and the magic only a few gifted unicorns could ever produce. Twilight would, had she not been so pre-occupied with selfish matters, have worried that her current magical research was most likely going to send them into unemployment.

Her point-to-point teleportation was a useful trick, but Twilight knew the real value of her research lay elsewhere. Any spell she could master could be imbued into one of the crystals—of which she had now grown a sizeable collection—and cast by anybody, even those with no magical talent or knowledge whatsoever; in many cases, Rainbow Dash was the tester, whether the spell was for agriculture or zoology.

Though learning proper rigour and documentation was slowing her work considerably, the Corral were keeping a close eye on her progress. The more optimistic among them predicted that Equestria could be a completely different place in just a few short years, with the distinctions between earth, pegasus, and unicorn ponies blurred to the point of obsolescence.

What had begun as a trivial and routine experiment so long ago had spiralled into taking the majority of Twilight's time, side-lining many of her other studies—though not her main studies into Friendship—and taking up many a journal or notebook. Twilight was no longer certain exactly what she hoped to gain, but in her more romantic—and salted—moments she may have slurred something along the lines of leaving the world a better place for the next generation—for her next generation.

Rainbow Dash watched the faraway train coast to a stop in Canterlot station with the edge of a tear in her eye. Had she been able to draw on her full strength, the journey could have been made in a matter of minutes, but at that speed she was as much a visual spectacle as anything else. While she was usually more than okay with that, the resulting shockwave and light show would attract attention all across the kingdom—but most importantly, Twilight would see it and know.

She beat her wings harder, trying to straddle the line between sub and supersonic speeds as closely as she could. Rarity and Pinkie Pie hung on for dear life, and the cakes had once been destined to provide the centrepiece of a grand feast had been squashed by the raw force of wind. She knew she still had a few minutes—she was meant to arrive at the temple first and Twilight would enter as the ceremony began. She still had some time.

"You're going too slow!" Pinkie shouted, trying to drown out the winds by yelling with all the might in her lungs. "We're still too far away!"

"I can't go any faster, Pinkie! If I do a sonic rainboom this high up the whole kingdom will see it! Anyway, you guys would get thrown off, the shockwave is pretty strong."

"But you did it with Twilight, she said!"

"Yeah, but she was underneath and I could pull her close, it's calmer there. You guys wouldn't stand a chance."

"Put us down," Rarity insisted. "We'll be okay, just get there."

"No! I want you there too!" Dash shouted back, watching the train's smoke stack dissipate as the engines shut down and cooled off. Twilight had arrived and her remaining time was in the single minutes. Pinkie was right, at the rate she was going it could be half an hour before they arrived, and then she would be late. She couldn't be late.

"Rainbow, I want to be there too, but it's more important that you're there. We'll make our own way."

Rainbow Dash sighed and began to descend. Her wedding hadn't even started and already the day had been one disaster leading into another, joined together by smaller disasters. She hoped Twilight's party was having better luck, and began to search for a suitable landing place. While normally she would have no issue coming to a dead stop, Rarity wasn't built for those kinds of forces, so a slower deceleration was called for. Spotting a nice long clearing, she tilted and glided down, slowly coming to a stop and spending the last few meters winding her gallop down to a leisurely trot.

Her passengers disembarked, hopping off and onto the ground. Rarity fell to her knees in exhaustion, hugging the ground as if she'd been away from her comfortable home for weeks, not hours. Pinkie uprighted her cakes and pulled a picnic basket out from under her mane, setting up a meal for the two abandoned mares.

"I'll send somepony to come get you, I promise," Dash said, before spreading her wings once more and taking off. Within seconds she was exceeding her previous speed, and a few moments after that the leaves on the trees buckled and waved in the shockwave of a sonic rainboom low enough to avoid detection up above. Her rainbow trail streaked off into the distance, quickly approaching the city of Canterlot fast enough to terrify any of the on-duty guards.

"Cupcake?" Pinkie asked, offering the significantly squashed, but sugary and salivating snack to the frazzled and very lost mare standing next to her, desperately trying to fix her mane without a mirror.

"Did he say why we couldn't go in yet?" Twilight asked, tilting her head as she stood outside the largest temple in Canterlot. The bees buzzed, the birds sang, and the butterflies flew free through the tall trees and fragrant flowers. The temple was remote, situated on the peak of a tall hill immediately outside Canterlot. It overlooked the city, but was separate enough that they wouldn't be disturbed. The great wooden doors stayed shut, barring them entry, and the three were forced to remain outside. The rest of the guests had already entered and were awaiting the start of the ceremony.

"Nope, just asked us to wait a few 'if we'd be so kind'," Applejack replied, shifting uncomfortably in the dress she'd hastily equipped in the last few minutes of the journey. As much as she hated wearing anything that could be classed under froo-froo, it was a special occasion and she had—regretfully—allowed Rarity to select the most restrained and practical dress she could muster.

"Oh! M- maybe it's that!" Fluttershy exclaimed, spotting a familiar streak of rainbow spearing across the sky. Immediately after she said it, she realised that she shouldn't have—if Dash was late, that was something Twilight certainly shouldn't know. At her current speed Dash should be at the venue in just a few seconds, so Fluttershy thought as quickly as she could and pointed in the opposite direction, directing Twilight's gaze away from the delayed pegasus for long enough for her to pass undetected.

"A tree? Fluttershy, this is no time for your obsessions!" Twilight said, exasperated. There wasn't meant to be a delay—no delay had been timetabled; they were behind schedule, even accounting for Dash's habitual lateness. Everything had gone so smoothly up until now, what in Equestria could be holding them back now?

Rainbow Dash pulled her wings to her side and held her legs close as she aimed herself at one of the more open windows of the temple where she was to be wed. It would be a tight fit, but she'd spotted Applejack outside and Twilight was almost certainly with her, making the front door no longer an option. Entering through windows was her speciality, anyway.

She felt the wooden window frame scrape against the tip of her ears and the edge of her tail as she passed through, threading the metaphorical needle with relative ease. The instant she was clear she flared her wings and came to a quick stop, planning a dramatic landing on one of the chairs to disguise her late entry. Unfortunately, the tip of her dress snagged on the edge of the frame, ripping and sending her off-balance enough that her dramatic entrance became a miserable failure, leading to her tumbling to the floor amidst a mess of splinters and feathers from the now-ruined chair that broke her fall.

The temple was a grand and opulent construction. The whole thing was build from thick stone, with marble pillars dotting the interior for both support and aesthetics. The altar was located at the opposite end from the main entrance, and the space between was lined with chairs, split into two halves by a long length of carpet that ran to both ends of the building. The walls were lined with tables and shelves, covered with either books and flowerpots or an assortment of foods and cakes depending on how close to the buffet you stood. Ponies stood around it in little social groupings, but now every single one was staring at one particular point.

"He-" Dash spat a few feathers out of her mouth- "Hey everyone!" she sheepishly announced, as if the entire mass of guests wasn't currently staring at her incredulously. Nobody said a word as Dash gazed upon the collected guests, sweeping her vision from left to right to take in the sight. Commanding the most attention, Celestia stood at the altar with a wry smile on her face. The rest of the room was filled with family and friends; it seemed like most of Ponyville had turned up—Pinkie made the invitations—as well as a select few others that Dash would get to in a moment.

Picking herself up and dusting herself off, Dash made her way to Celestia as quickly as she could before anybody else could react. She leaned in and whispered into the princess's ear "I uh, had a bit of trouble getting here. Could you send somepony to go get Rarity and Pinkie Pie? They're a few miles that way," Dash asked while pointing in the vague direction of where she'd come from. Celestia chuckled quietly enough such that only Dash could hear and slightly nodded, both answering Dash's question and calling over one of the guards.

Dash stepped down from the altar and grinned at the gathered guests. The punctual ponies were perhaps perturbed by her late arrival, and Dash standing before them with windswept hair and a tattered dress, complete with holes for wings and cake frosting smeared down one side certainly didn't help matters. Her slightly frazzled look and too-wide grin completed the image of a pony possessed, but at least the worst of it was over now and the ceremony could begin.

"Hey!" a voice called, catching Dash's attention immediately. It was familiar, though she didn't hear it often. "Nice party," Spitfire continued, walking up next to Dash in full Wonderbolts attire, "and nice entertainment. Not often we do weddings, but we'll try and make it special. Got you a gift, too."

Dash squeaked. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know you guys were performing here!"

"Hey, you're almost a full-blown member now, 'course we're here." Spitfire glanced across the room to where the remaining members of the Wonderbolts' primary squad were loitering. "Oh, hey, I should go. Can't leave Soarin' alone for five minutes or he'll probably start flirting with the guests again. Have a good one, Dash."

Dash squeaked. The problems were over and done with and it was plain sailing from here on in. She looked across the room with an ever widening grin, waving back as ex-colleagues and friends greeted her from across the room. Twilight's parents sat on the front row of one side, patiently waiting next to a bored and fidgeting Shining Armor. Princess Cadence was nowhere to be seen, but Dash was sure she couldn't be far away—no princess of love would miss a wedding.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Shining Armor muttered, "Weddings in this city never go well." His cynicism wasn't directed at the to-be-weds, but the outstanding ability of Canterlot to throw inexplicable danger at any major wedding, whether it be his own, the noblemare who was set upon by a plague of cats, one of the many ceremonies that, for unknown reasons, became the target of a swarm of parasprites, or any other disastrous wedding.

"Oh, Shiny," his and Twilight's mother scolded, "Relax. You know what your sister is like with plans, nothing'll go wrong."

There was only one thing left to make the day absolutely perfect. Dash's long gaze across the room continued until her eyes fell on the front row of the opposite side, and the two seats reserved for her own parents. She knew they were coming because they, like everyone else here, had replied to the invitation, and because no good parent would ever miss their child's wedding day.

Except they weren't there. The two pieces of card marking their planned seats stood tall and unmoved, as if nobody had come to collect them—because nobody had. Dash's grin shattered in an instant. "No..." she whispered, before taking off as fast as her wings could carry her and heading for the open window, looping round to land on the temple roof where she could be alone for a while.

"Mmm, these carrots are top!" Golden Harvest muffledly exclaimed with a mouth full of vegetable. Her and a few other Ponyvillians stood around the snack table munching on the fruits, vegetables, oats and seeds to their heart's content while they waited for the ceremony to start.

"Yeah they're pretty good. Hey, shouldn't it have stared by now?" Cloud Kicker asked, growing bored and listless with the slow pace. "Not like Rainbow Dash to delay anything."

"Oh, she's right over there!" Rose said with a single petal stuck to her upper lip. As soon as she'd finished speaking, she returned to gorging herself on the decorative flowers, much to the distaste of the temple's florist—but he dare not say anything to the guests of such a famous couple. More flowers for Rose.

Cloud Kicker looked over to where she'd been pointing and saw Rainbow Dash standing, grinning like the moron she was, with the leader of the Wonderbolts walking away from her. Why was it, exactly, that idiots like Dash had all the luck while hard working but unremarkable pegasi like herself got nothing? At least she was running her own weather department now and didn't have to answer to possibly the laziest leader she'd ever seen. Every grey cloud had a silver lining—literally, now she had the funds.

Still, as problematic as her and Dash's relationship was, most of her issues ended when she wasn't working under her any more. She really did only wish Dash well, even if she was an amazingly dense pony she still deserved whatever happiness she could carve out of the world, just like everybody else. However, if Dash kept insisting on ruining her cloudy night skies by punching holes for Twilight's telescope, she'd have to see how expensive one-way tickets to Tartarus were.

She watched Dash's face fall for some inexplicable reason, and in the blink of an eye she was gone.Though she was naturally a loud, noticeable and showy pony, it was possible for Dash to fly without making herself the centre of attention, and she managed to slip away apparently without drawing attention. As Cloud Kicker looked around the room to see who else had noticed, she caught Celestia's eye. Cloud gulped; she'd heard stories about the princess, but hadn't ever put much faith into them. That one moment of connection felt like an entire wordless conversation, a single look into those ancient eyes perfectly describing Celestia's intentions and current desires. Celestia had seen Dash go, but she wasn't going to be the one to bring her back. Cloud Kicker was.

Rainbow Dash sat on the roof of the building, resting against the sloped surface and staring out across Canterlot with blurry eyes and no desire to appreciate it. She was trying her hardest not to cry, but all she could think of at the present moment was a slideshow of a terrible childhood, and tears seemed so very appropriate. She didn't think anybody had seen her leave, so at least she might have a while before anybody came to find her, not that she was sure what she was going to say. She briefly considered taking to the air and flying as far away as she could, but she couldn't bring herself to abandon Twilight like that.

Such was her sorrow that she didn't hear Cloud Kicker's approach, only taking note when the weatherpony sat next to her without a word. The two remained there for several seconds, not even acknowledging each other's existence until Dash finally snapped "What do you want?" in as "leave me alone" a tone as she could.

"To knock some sense into you, I guess. What the hay are you doing out here, Dash?"

"Oh, great. Well, sorry to disappoint yet again but I'm not in the mood. Go away."

Cloud Kicker stood up and started to leave. "Oh, what should I tell Twilight? She's waiting out front, she doesn't think anything's wrong but she's getting pretty restless. Gotta tell her something, right?"

Dash didn't answer.

"Okay, I'll just go tell her that her so-called fiancé is too busy being a baby to come out and marry her. So much for love's young dream, huh?"

"W- wait," Dash snapped, "Don't do that." Dash's head dropped into her forehooves and she wiped away the thin streak of tears down each eye as she turned to stand proudly. A moment later her confident front crumbled once again as she stumbled and fell, landing on the solid roof with a painful crack as her chin struck ceramic. "Please, not that."

"Then what, Dash? What's wrong? Nopony can help if you won't say what's wrong."

"I don't need anypony's help!" Dash shouted, flapping one of her wings in anger and creating a wind strong enough to send Cloud Kicker sliding back a few feet. The weathermare braced herself and flapped back, regaining her balance. She cautiously walked back over to Dash, who was lying silently on the roof tiles as if she was trying to ignore the entire world.

"We all need help sometimes, Dash. Even you." The quivering pony shook her head, but Cloud Kicker continued on, "But I bet you won't let me help, and quite honestly I don't want to. Not my business if you want to go screw up your relationship. I think Twilight would care, though, so I'm gonna go get her. Don't go anywhere."

Cloud Kicker kicked off and glided around the building to where Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy were still waiting. Applejack was passing the time by talking to one of the local trees, and Fluttershy was chatting with the nearby animals. Twilight was just impatiently sitting there trying her best not to crease her dress. She looked gorgeous, Cloud Kicker thought, and Dash was a lucky mare. Too lucky, it just went to prove that life wasn't fair.

"Oh, hello Cloud Kicker! Are you here to escort us in?" Twilight hopefully asked, standing up. Applejack and Fluttershy turned to hear the answer.

"Uh, not exactly. I'm here to escort you up there."

Twilight cocked her head, not understanding what the surprising chauffeur was trying to convey. All that was up was the roof, and why would she want to go there?

"Look, you'll see. Just get up there, okay?"

"This is about Dash, isn't it?" Fluttershy meekly asked.

Cloud Kicker nodded. Twilight's face twisted into an expression of concern, and she looked up at the tall temple's top before vanishing in a blink of light. High up, where her lover was still weeping, Twilight appeared—or didn't appear, rather. As she teleported, she had cast a simple invisibility charm to ensure she would go unseen, neatly sidestepping the "No seeing each other before the ceremony" tradition. The day still had room to be perfect.

"Dash?" she asked, sitting by the blue pegasus' side. "What's wrong?"

Rainbow Dash's head rose as she looked around for the source. She saw nothing. "Great, now I'm mad too," she muttered, lowering her head back into her hooves.

"No, I'm just invisible."

"Of course you are, Headsparkle," Dash said, dismissively. "I guess you're going to ask what's wrong and then you'll say what I think Twilight would say and it'll all feel better, right? Nuh-uh, if figments of my own imagination could have fixed this they'd have done it back when I still had imaginary friends."

"I'm real. We're not allowed to see each other before the ceremony, so-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Go away."

Twilight grunted in exasperation. "Aagh! You can be so stubborn sometimes!"

"Yeah well, you'd kn-" Dash's self-bickering was cut off as Twilight grabbed her around the cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss. It was short, but passionate. It may not have lasted long, but it was real, and Dash could tell. "I- oh. I guess it is you."

"Yeah," Twilight whispered, giving Dash a tiny kiss on the upper lip before pulling back and sitting next to her once more. "You gonna tell me what's wrong now?"

"My parents aren't here."

"Oh. Maybe they're just late?" Twilight asked.

Dash shook her head. "Nah, not them. Dunno why I ever thought they'd turn up. Just being a stupid kid again, I guess."

"Want to talk about it?"

Dash sighed and turned to look Twilight in the eye. While it was true she couldn't see her, that didn't mean that she couldn't hear her every movement, smell her scent, or feel the way her motions shifted the air. Dash felt sure Twilight would force her into hours of experimentation to try and make an invisibility spell that would actually be effective against her later, but for now Dash would be happy with being able to see Twilight every way but visually. "It's kind of a long story, but..."

Rainbow Dash glided through the open cloud door of her home after a long day at school. She dropped her saddlebag on the floor and pulled her lunch box out in her mouth before skipping along to the kitchen to clean it out. Inside it had been an oat sandwich—her favourite—and a few flowers to snack on throughout the day. It was her favourite, like always, because she'd made it herself, like always.

When she was done cleaning, she put the box to one side to let it dry and started to walk through to her room. She hadn't announced her arrival to her parents because she assumed they weren't home at all. They almost never were. This day, however, was an exception.

"Rainbow!" a deep voice thundered—her father. "Come here at once. I got your report card today."

Rainbow Dash braced herself. "How'd I do?" she asked, smiling.

"Terribly, I'm cutting your allowance. Four Ds and not a single B! I didn't raise you to be a failure, girl. The comments are just as bad: "chatty", "rowdy" and "potentially disruptive". Get out of my sight."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dash."

"Yeah, well, it didn't stop there. Nothing was ever good enough, even when I found out how good I was at flying he still wanted more. Wouldn't believe I could do a sonic rainboom either, just like everyone else. I lived with him, but we didn't really speak much unless he was shouting at me. I guess that's why I always try to be the best, just so I can hope that one day he'll be proud of me." Dash laughed, a dark and self-directed chuckle.

"I'm proud of you. Forget him, Dash, you'll always be good enough for me. No matter what."

Dash reached out with one leg and pulled Twilight close, feeling her warm body through the cold silky dress and, a moment later, feeling Twilight's own forelegs hug back. They were glad nobody could see them, fearing it would look quite ridiculous to have Dash squeezing thin air. "Why would you even want them here, though?" Twilight asked.

"Just being stupid, I guess. My mom left when I was little and my dad always blamed the wedding. He was late and his folks didn't turn up and the venue was a mess and the whole thing was a disaster, and he always said that was where it all started," Dash replied, talking into mid air and staring out across the city. Twilight thought she was finally starting to understand why Dash hated talking about her childhood so much. "And now it looks like ours is the same," Dash finished.

"Dash, I'm not going to stop loving you because you were late, or because one of the guests didn't show up!"

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted it to be perfect, y'know? Only get to do it once, gotta get it right."

"It is perfect, it's with you. That's all I care about."

"I lost Rarity and Pinkie back in the forest."

"What?!"

"I've had a bad morning."

Twilight's hoof met her face. "Someone's looking for them, right?"

Dash nodded.

"Then that's okay. We can just wait. If I have you and all my friends here, then today can't not be perfect."

Several hours later, Pinkie Pie came bouncing out of the bushes and announced her entrance to everyone. The guests were all restless and bored, having been sat around for hours, and most were glad to have a party-expert entering the building. Rarity arrived a few minutes later, looking as pristine and well-maintained as if she'd just exited the spa. The guard that guided them back took his place guarding the entrance once more, and the wedding was ready to begin.

Rainbow Dash had done her best cleaning herself up, but she still looked as if she'd flown through a hedge—backwards, upside-down, and while it was on fire. The guests sat on the rows of seats ready for the ceremony to finally begin. The snack table had been refilled several times with the finest food Canterlot had to offer—Celestia's treat—and many of the ponies were tired and stuffed, yawning on their seats. Rainbow Dash didn't notice, she was too focussed on the entrance, two huge wooden doors teasing her with their closed-ness.

Eventually—finally—the doors began to open, swinging around their hinges as the two guards pushed. The hour was late and the sun was low in the sky, silhouetting Twilight as she walked into the temple and began to trot down the isle. As the doors closed and the sun was blocked, Dash found herself staring as Twilight made her way to the altar. Twilight did the same, finally able to appreciate the sheer scale of devastation Dash's dress—and thus Rarity's mental state—had endured.

Twilight walked to stand at the opposite side to Dash, carefully watching her face to make sure she was okay. Her smile wavered slightly when she glanced over to the empty front-row seats, but didn't break. "Hey," Twilight whispered.

"Hey," Dash answered with a smile.

Celestia cleared her throat above them, signalling that she was ready to begin. "Welcome, gathered ponies. We came here today to witness the joining of two national heroes in wedded bliss. This day—like their lives—was punctuated by unforeseen complications that they rose to meet. All of us owe them and their friends our lives, and we are here to wish them well in theirs. Twilight did write her own vows, but in the process of sending them her dragon unfortunately fell violently ill. Unrelated, I'm sure." The crowd laughed, most of them quite intimate with Twilight's ability to over-write. Spike rolled his eyes and folded his arms in protest. "We shall go with something a little more traditional. Twilight, repeat after me."

"I, Twilight Sparkle, take Rainbow Dash to be my lawfully wedded partner, under the eyes of Equestrian law and Celestia herself, and pledge to love and to cherish until the end, to tolerate and appreciate on every day and to never take her for granted. Under the spell of true love I do here swear to uphold her with all my might."

Twilight began to recite the ancient words—written by one of Princess Cadence's predecessors as avatar of Love—with honest meaning in her voice. As she spoke, she stared into Dash's large, beautiful magenta eyes and knew she was doing the right thing. Any doubt or hesitation she'd had before that fell away. It just felt right.

"Okay," Celestia said, signalling that she was ready to continue. "Rainbow Dash, repeat after me. I, Rainbow Da-"

"Hey, I wrote my own vows too, remember?" Dash interrupted.

"Ah, no. I never got those."

"I had to give them to you?"

"Well, yes, of course. How else can I do the ceremony?"

"Eh, I can remember them," Dash said, before turning back to Twilight and staring into her eyes while she spoke from memory. "Twilight Sparkle, I love you more than anything else. Be my bride."

Celestia waited for several seconds to make sure nothing more was coming. Nothing more was. Rainbow Dash was succinct, as usual. At least Twilight appreciated it—it wasn't fancy, but it was very Dash. Celestia nodded to Princess Cadence, who had appeared in the audience at some point—neither Twilight nor Dash had been paying much attention—and stood back as the love princess's horn lit up. "You may now kiss the bride," she announced as the sky lit up with fireworks and heart-shaped clouds. A moment later, the Wonderbolts zoomed overhead in yet another celebratory pattern, telling anybody for miles around that looked up into the sky that the wedding was over—Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were entwined for life.