“They want me to fly with them! It's like a dream come true!”

“If you fly for Cloudsdale, Pinkie Pie won't have anypony to cheer for. Rarity's uniforms will never be seen. And Applejack will have slaved over those apple brown betties for nothing.”

“Oh, but I really wanna fly with the best team! What would you do?”

“I think this is a decision you have to make on your own. The race is tomorrow, so you'd better make it soon.”

But a decision she had to make on her own did not need to be a decision she could make on her own. How could she abandon Ponyville? No offense to Fluttershy or Bulk Biceps, but the relay team would be completely hopeless without her, assuming they could even find a new third member in time. But how could she turn down a chance to fly with the Wonderbolts? Winning the gold medal with them would be everything she dreamed since she was a filly and more. Her thoughts went endlessly in circles, certain only that to make a choice was both necessary and impossible.

Finally, she gave up on thinking. It didn’t matter what Twilight said; she could not make this decision on her own, so she would not. Twilight had made it clear she would not help, but Twilight was far from Dash’s only friend. She was probably better off talking to an older friend anyway.

“Fluttershy? I have a problem.”

“Oh my. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s great. The Wonderbolts want me to fly with them in the relay, since Soarin’ hasn’t recovered yet. They want me! But . . . if I fly for Cloudsdale, I can’t fly for Ponyville. I would be abandoning you. I would be abandoning everypony.”

“It’s okay if you want to go with them. I know this means a lot to you, and I would never want to hold you back. I’m sure everypony will be proud of your performance no matter who you’re competing for.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

And so she took Fluttershy’s advice, and steeled herself to tell her friends and teammates. As predicted, they were understanding and did not begrudge Dash this opportunity. Yes, Rarity was disappointed that her uniforms would probably never make it to the Games, and Applejack didn’t like knowing that her efforts to help were unlikely to be enough, but they were too polite to say it. Ponyville was only fielding a pegasus relay team at all because that was where Dash wanted to compete, so who could have more right than her to ruin the team? Not to mention how all the negatives were overshadowed by Pinkie’ boundless excitement that she would be cheering for two teams in the trials tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent on practicing with the Wonderbolts. Sure, they could qualify while half-asleep already, but Wonderbolts—and those who they pick to fly with them—are supposed to be the best, and the best do not settle for simply adequate. With no obligations to the Ponyville team to fulfill, Dash was free to train uninterrupted, and that’s exactly what she did: flying alongside Spitfire and Fleetfoot until the low light of dusk threatened to cause an accident, followed by an extensive series of cool-down stretches to ensure none of them were in any way stiff or sore come the trials tomorrow. It was exhilarating, being all but a member of the Wonderbolts without any need to sneak around. It was all but unreal.

And yet, there was one thing missing: her friends. Presumably, the Ponyville team was still going to give it a shot, and everypony was involved in getting whoever was replacing her as ready as possible in what little time remained. That had to be why none of them came to see her practice. But it still felt like they were giving her the cold shoulder out of anger. Maybe that was why, when Spitfire said that Dash ought to be sleeping in accommodations fit for a Cloudsdale competitor and pointed out that Soarin’s bed was unclaimed as long as he was in the hospital, she didn’t really resist the idea. Or maybe she was just eager to experience the sort of luxuries that are commonplace to Wonderbolts without having to wait to get in. Whatever the reason, Dash would not see her friends again until the trials.

That night, Dash dreamed.

She was in Ponyville, doing some routine weather work. As she flew around town, she could see her friends: Fluttershy and Rarity were on their way to their weekly spa date; Pinkie was bouncing around, probably planning a surprise party for somepony; Applejack was bucking apples; and Twilight was reading on her balcony. Later, they were all going to have a picnic, since it was such a beautiful summer day.

Far overhead, the Wonderbolts flew by. Suddenly, Dash’s view of Ponyville was completely blocked out by an unscheduled thunderstorm below her. She knew she should clear the clouds, but instead she started to chase the Wonderbolts. They were far away, but she was slowly gaining on them.

Looking behind her, she saw that Ponyville was flooding. But she was most of the way to the Wonderbolts now, and she knew that if she went back to help, the Wonderbolts would get away. Then she heard the crackle of impossibly rapid lightning, and felt heat behind her, and she knew that Ponyville had caught fire from the storm, and was burning down even as it was flooding. She thought about saving Ponyville, but then she caught up with the Wonderbolts and she didn’t care anymore.

Looking down, she saw she was wearing a Wonderbolts uniform. That explained it. She was a Wonderbolt; she didn’t need Ponyville. She only needed the team. They stopped for a bit to watch when monsters started coming out of the Everfree and attacking Ponyville, but before long the humor grew stale and they flew away forever.

Dash awoke sure she had made a mistake. After a little searching, she found Spitfire and Fleetfoot eating their carefully balanced and surely delicious breakfasts.

“I can’t fly with you in the Games. I’m sorry, but Ponyville needs me. They’ll never qualify without me, and I can’t let them down. I never should have agreed to join this team.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Spitfire replied. “Not if you didn’t mean it. Every Cloudsdale pegasus in this town is here for a specific event, and Cloudsdale is over two hours’ flight away. If you leave now, there is no way to replace you, and we don’t compete.”

“You made a promise, Rainbow Dash,” Fleetfoot jumped in. “You committed to this team. Ponyville can race without you. Is it really them you need to worry about betraying? Do they even want you back?”

“We need you. They don’t.”

And so it came to pass that, a couple hours later, Dash flew the middle leg of the relay for Cloudsdale. They qualified, of course, and almost broke the Equestria record time in the process. But no amount of success or cheering crowds could assuage Dash’s guilt. It didn’t matter that her friends had supported her decision; she still abandoned them, and now she was trapped by her own mistake. She had never imagined that flying with the Wonderbolts would feel so terrible.

So she left. Ponyville was up next, and she couldn’t bear to watch them fail without her. She just wanted to be alone anyway. Talking to her friends would just hurt her. Talking to the Wonderbolts would just end in her taking out her anger at herself on her idols. Much better to hide where nopony could find her.

It turned out, however, that even in Rainbow Falls, a multicolored mane does not constitute camouflage. She hadn’t been gone even ten minutes before Spitfire landed beside her.

“What are you doing out here? You’re missing all the fun.”

“Fun?” Rainbow spat, pointedly continuing to stare straight ahead. “You mean the fun of watching the other teams fail? I’m missing out on laughing at my friends?”

“Well, your replacement did crash a lot . . .” Spitfire’s nervous chuckles were quickly killed by Dash’s obvious lack of appreciation for the joke. “But no, we’re celebrating our qualification. Just because we knew we’d make it is no reason not to be happy about it.”

“I’d still be celebrating my betrayal. I’ll pass.” After a brief awkward silence, Dash added, “Don’t you have a party to get back to?”

“Listen . . . we haven’t been entirely honest with you. Soarin’s recovered at this point. Maybe not a hundred percent, but good enough to qualify. But you’re a more agile flier, so when we saw the chance to trade up, we took it. And we lied to you to get you on our team.”

“Soarin’ could have competed? I could have flown for Ponyville?” At last Dash would look at Spitfire, and it was not a happy look. “You took advantage of my good nature to force me to abandon my friends?”

“Yes, we did, and that was wrong. You showed me that. We shouldn’t have abandoned a team member out of convenience, and we shouldn’t have broken up another team.”

“You’ve got that right,” Dash huffed.

“But it’s not too late to fix things. Officially we’re stuck with the teams we flew the trials in, but unofficially . . . I think I could arrange for the fact that Cloudsdale and Ponyville already flew to be forgotten. We could try again, with the teams we should have had. You’d be surprised how far you can get with a few autographs.”

“Really? You’d do that?”

“It’s the right thing to do. And you make me want to do the right thing.” Spitfire laughed. “I still remember that starstruck fan who saved us at the Best Young Fliers competition, you know. You were so amazed just to be in our presence. And now . . . when I see you disappointed in me, it feels like I killed that fan. You’re a better pony than me, Rainbow Dash, and I want to be more like you.” She took off her badge and held it out to Dash. “Take this.”

“You’re giving me your captain’s badge? Why are you giving me your captain’s badge?”

“It’s a reminder. You may be only an aspiring Wonderbolt at the moment, but I want you to talk to me as an equal when it comes to morals. If you see me doing something wrong, you tell me.” Spitfire paused for a moment. “Also, I think you’d be a good captain one day.”

“Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!”

“I’m glad to see that fan’s still in there. Now come on, we’ve got some trials to fly.”