It was a day that all of them had been looking forward to for a long time. The day of the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange. On this day, Twilight and her friends planned to spend the day looking around and finding all sorts of thing that they might wish for themselves, or at least have a fun time while doing so. It was a beautiful day for it too, with barely a cloud in the sky and the sun shining down gloriously upon the entire proceedings. It would have been a perfect day for all, except that for one newly-crowned Princess, the joy of the event was somewhat undermined by one of the downsides of her recent ascension.

For it was not long after their arrival here that a young pony had walked up to her and asked for her to sign a photo of her that he'd offered. Twilight was usually remiss to want such things, but she had to keep up appearances, and so she indulged the child, whipping out her quill and starting to sign it. Her friends looked on with some amusement at this, until their attention was then diverted to Rainbow Dash, who was practically abuzz with energy as she hovered above them, clearly excited over something. It was only when she spoke that all became clear to them.

"There's a pony here who has a mint-condition copy of "Daring Do and the Quest of the Sapphire Statue!" And I'm gonna get it! I've been able to get first editions of all the Daring Do books, except this one. And nopony has ever put together a whole set, and I'm gonna be the first!"

Her friends then looked on as the usually-energetic pegasus then began to hover in a more lethargic way, her wings and face drooping down somewhat, a sure sign that she was worried about something.

"That is...if it hasn't been traded yet. It's the only one in all of Equestria!"

The other mares looked to each other, perhaps looking to see if one of them would step forward and say something to cheer her up. Of all of them it was Rainbow's fellow pegasus, Fluttershy, who took this leap, as she began to walk towards her childhood friend.

"Oh no, that would be awful if you didn't get it. If you like, I can help you."

Rainbow looked over to her friend, her previous low attitude perking up slightly. She knew Fluttershy well enough to know that she was willing to do anything to help a close friend like Rainbow, so she knew she would keep to her offer as best she could. The Rainbow-maned pegasus showed her appreciation by placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, the two friends now smiling at each other. However, this tender moment was interrupted by Twilight, who had finally managed to get away from her young fan. The group looked on as she spoke during her approach.

"Sorry about that. Now then, what was it you said you wanted, Rainbow? Daring Do and the...?"

Rainbow lowered herself to the ground, her previous enthusiasm returning.

"And the Quest of the Sapphire Statue! I heard it's a good one!"

Rainbow and the other mares looked on as their alicorn friend raised a hoof to her chin, her expression a thoughtful one. Twilight began mumbling to herself as she looked away from her friends and towards the many boxes she'd brought with her. The mares looked at each other with some confusion over this behaviour as she began rummaging through her boxes, all of which they could now see were filled with some of the many books from her library. They were each levitated out by the distinct purple aura of Twilight's magic as she looked over each other. Eventually, her expression brightened up as she used her magic to pick out a smaller book from the bottom of one of the boxes.

The other mares all strained to see what it was, but Rainbow's eyes widened with shock, for she knew exactly what it was. Twilight now returned to her friends, and there, hovering in front of her, was none other than the very book Dash had been hoping to trade for. "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue". Rainbow couldn't help but express her sheer surprise at this turn of events.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

The blue pegasus stared at it with her mouth agape, and was on the verge of drooling over the sight of it before she was knocked back to reality by a small giggle from Twilight.

"I know it's not exactly mint-condition, but you're welcome to have it."

Rainbow looked at her, not quite believing her luck, before smiling at the book and taking it into her hooves, even going so far as to enthusiastically hug the book, much to her friends' amusement. For a brief moment, she wondered how it was that Twilight could have a copy, even a non-first-edition such as this. But then it occurred to her that Twilight was perhaps the only one from among her friends who was as much of a Daring Do fan as her, and as such felt more than a little silly that she'd never even considered asking if she had it. But then her expression became more serious.

"But...don't you want anything for it? I even brought my lucky horse-shoe to give to the vendor for hers."

Reaching behind her back, Rainbow pulled out the item in question, an old and rusted horse-shoe, and presented it to Twilight, most likely as a potential trade for the book she'd offered. Twilight looked at the object with a mixed expression. Looking past Rainbow, she saw that several of her friends were regarding it with equal attitudes, with Rarity in particular showing great disdain for the rusty old item. Looking back at Rainbow, Twilight put on a small smile and gently pushed the shoe away.

"It's okay, Rainbow. I was planning on just giving most of these books away anyway. Keep it, as a gift from me."

Rainbow looked on at her friend, completely oblivious to the fact that she simply didn't want Rainbow's lucky horseshoe, and gave a massive smile. In appreciation, with the book sill in one hoof, she rushed forward and scooped up her alicorn friend in a hug in mid-air. It was a fairly tight one however, and Twilight struggled to breathe, with several of her friends trying their best to stifle their laughs from this sight. Eventually, Rainbow finally let Twilight down, allowing the latter to breathe, and the two gave each other a small smile. With that said and done, Rainbow turned to Fluttershy and approached her, placing her hoof on her shoulder once more, with a look of determination upon her face.

"Now then...let's get you something awesome for that bear-call of yours!"