At the end of a long and tiring day, there was nothing that Twilight Sparkle enjoyed more than simply curling up with a good book. And so it was today that she was doing just that, sitting in one of her favourite and most comfortable chairs in the main room of the Golden Oak Library, looking down at what was by far her favourite piece of literature; Obscure Unicorn History. Having gone through the whole day studying her collection of ancient magical artefacts and managing the library's various book collections, this little rest was something she'd more than earned at this point, and so let out a contented sigh as she started reading through the chapter on Starswirl the Bearded. Before she got too engrossed in the book however, she looked up to see Spike running down the stairs before heading towards the front door. He turned to his adopted mother and gave her a friendly smile and waved goodbye, which she promptly returned, before making his way out, closing the door behind her. Twilight let out a brief chuckle at that, wondering to herself just what antics her son would get up to when he joined up with the Cutie Mark Crusaders today. However, no sooner had he left when Twilight began to hear a knocking on the door. Although confused by this, she gently set her book aside and began to walk over. When she opened it, she gazed upon a familiar face.

"Special delivery for Twilight Sparkle!"

It was none other than Derpy Hooves, Ponyville's resident mailmare, who, as usual, was looking as chipper as she always was, carrying her usual brown saddle-bag filled with letters, all while having one in her hooves that she was currently offering to Twilight. Smiling, the young unicorn took the letter from the blonde pegasus before speaking up.

"Good morning, Derpy. I hope you're having a good day. Oh! And how's Dinky doing these days?"

Derpy's smile widened after hearing that.

"Oh, I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking. As for Dinky, she's fine. Cheerilee says she's been very good with her school work at the moment. I’m so proud of her."

Twilight had no doubt of that, and so smiled as she looked down to the letter in her hooves. Unfortunately, her smile faded a little when she began to notice little details of that letter. Most notably, a pair of golden wings emblazoned on the front, which she knew from experience was the personal emblem of the Wonderbolts. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Twilight looked back up to the grey mailmare.

"Er...Derpy? Are you sure this is for me? And not, say, for Rainbow Dash?"

Derpy looked from Twilight to the letter and then back again before shaking her head.

"Nope. It's definitely for you. See? Says so right there on the front."

Looking down at the letter once more, Twilight saw that Derpy had the right of it, and the letter was indeed addressed to her. Although clearly showing confusion as to why the Wonderbolts would be sending a message to her of all ponies, Twilight nevertheless put on an appreciative smile for Derpy's sake, silently thanking her for the delivery. The blonde mare smiled back and gave a typical mailmare salute before starting to fly off, no doubt ready to head to the next home on her rounds. As for Twilight, she waited for Derpy to be out of view before her smile started to fade again, after which she closed the door and went back into the library in earnest. She stared at the letter for some time, feeling more than a little concern about it, before lighting up her horn. Using her magic, she tore open the envelope as neatly and precisely as possible, before pulling out the parchment within. After unfolding it, Twilight saw that it was a hoof-written message, and her eyes widened with shock to discover that it was from none other than the leader of the Wonderbolts herself, Spitfire. Although taken aback by this, Twilight shook her head and tried to regain her composure, before starting to finally read the letter.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I know this may seem strange, me writing to you, but I figured it'd be the best course of action, rather than writing to Rainbow Dash about this. You see, every year, she gets in contact with us to try and apply for admission into the Wonderbolts Academy. Now, given how young she was during all the other years, I wasn't really supposed to accept her. However, given how impressive I've seen her flying to be, I was more than willing to let her in when the time was right. This year was that time, but for some reason, we received no letter from her this time. I asked around at the mail office, but nopony has seen hide nor hair of any message of application from Rainbow this year. I found it pretty strange, so I wondered, with you being a close friend of hers, if maybe you could talk to her about this? Maybe see if everything is okay? Because it'd be a real shame for a flier of her talents to not want to be a part of our group.

Regards,

Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts.

Twilight stood there, staring at the words on the parchment, reading them over and over to make sure she'd read them right. When she was certain that she had, a look of great concern crossed her face, and within moments, she was off. She discarded the letter, allowing it to fall to the ground, before darting out of her front door and slamming it behind her. Now outside, Twilight ran as fast as her hooves would carry her, charging right through the main streets of Ponyville. As she ran, she craned her neck upwards, scouring the sky in search of her quarry. But everywhere she went, there was nopony but other pegasi in the skies, leading to a grunt of frustration on her part. However, soon afterwards, she broke out into a smile, as she finally found the one she was looking for; Rainbow Dash herself. She was busy with her weather duties, moving a particularly large cloud away from the borders of Ponyville. As soon as she got within earshot, Twilight ground to a halt, looked up to her friend, and called up to her.

"Rainbow!"

Immediately, the cyan pegasus looked down from her work, smiling as she saw her friend. However, that smile didn't last long, as Rainbow then noticed the distinct lack of a smile upon Twilight's face. Sensing that something was wrong, Rainbow left her cloud and began to descend to the ground, landing onto all four hooves before approaching the young unicorn.

"Twilight? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Twilight took a step towards her, her face still bearing a look of worry.

"Rainbow...I just got a letter from Spitfire."

Immediately, the pegasus mare's face became one of understanding, and then to slight anger, as she turned from her friend with a frown. Seeing this, Twilight continued.

"She says...you haven't applied for the Wonderbolt Academy?"

Rainbow let out a snort at that.

"She shouldn't have told you that. It's none of her business."

Twilight shook her head slightly, clearly not understanding her friend's behaviour.

"Rainbow...I don't get it. Ever since I first met you, you've been wanting to be part of the Wonderbolts. Why wouldn't you apply this year?"

Only now did Rainbow look back to her.

"Twilight...please...understand. Yes, I used to obsess over becoming a Wonderbolt. I thought they were the greatest group in the world. The most awesome."

She then narrowed her eyes somewhat.

"But that was a different me. Back then, I was as arrogant as you could get. I thought of myself as the best of the best, and that nopony could match me or make me seem anything other than awesome."

Looking down to the ground, the cyan pegasus let out a brief sigh.

"But...things change. I've changed. I know now that it was wrong for me to think of myself like that. Calling myself the best, trying to show up everypony around me? I didn't want to be that anymore, especially when I know that there are...others...who I know are way beyond me."

Although confused at those words, Twilight's face soon changed to one of understanding, and then, soon afterwards, to shock, as she took a slight step backwards.

"Rainbow...is this...because of me?"

Her friend looked to her, seeing the look in her eyes, and then looked away slightly, giving a silent nod in response to her question. With her mouth now agape, Twilight shook her head a little, clearly shocked and panicked at what she'd just heard.

"But...no! No no no no no! This isn't right! You shouldn't think you're less just because of what I've done!"

Rainbow looked to her again, frowning slightly as she did so.

"But you are better! You fight dragons! You saved the Crystal Empire! You went out all over Equestria to find and sort out every problem there was to fix! You're...you're a hero! And you never ask for anything! But me?"

Yet again, Rainbow looked away from Twilight, actually taking a step back from her, before letting out another sigh and continuing.

"I was nowhere near as good. I've never done anything on the scale that you have! I'm just...not the hero I used to think I was."

The look on Twilight’s face was pretty much one of horror at this point, as she continued to shake her head.

"No! That's not true! What about you're flying? That's certainly better, right?"

Rainbow turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"That's only because you don't have wings! If you did, chances are you'd be a better flier than me in a few days, at most."

Twilight looked on, utterly shocked at the way in which her friend's self-confidence had been utterly shattered since the first day they'd met. It was as if she was looking at a completely different mare at this point. Gone was the brash, self-assured Rainbow Dash of her first day in Ponyville, replaced instead by this mare before her, who seemed to be nothing short of content with her life and her limits. But Twilight was not happy about this, and wracked her brain for a solution to this great change in her friend's personality. Eventually, there was only one thing her mind could conjure.

"Rainbow...it was your dream."

Looking to her, Rainbow slumped her shoulders a little, nodding her head slightly.

"You're right...it was. But, you know what? Sometimes...we grow out of our dreams, Twilight. And joining the Wonderbolts...that was everything that was wrong with me back then."

Twilight gained a look of obvious confusion at those words, prompting Rainbow to explain herself.

"It's just...what good are they? Seriously, all they do these days is fly around and look impressive. On the few times they're actually called to action, they fail! Like when..."

A look of guilt crossed Rainbow's face, as if she were ashamed to speak her words. However, in time, she managed to get them out.

"...like when Spike got bigger."

Understanding crossed Twilight's face, and she nodded slightly, acknowledging why Rainbow would have had such trouble in bringing that subject up, given how difficult a moment it was for all concerned. However, she remained silent as the cyan pegasus carried on.

"There was a time, long ago, when they actually did good things. But...now? Now they're just a bunch of attention-seekers, soaking up all the attention and praise from little colts and fillies all across Equestria! And that's what I wanted back then. It wasn't about doing something important! I just wanted to show off and look like a hero! And that's all the Wonderbolts are now...a bunch of show-offs."

The anger in her friend's words was as clear as day to Twilight at this point. Rainbow had truly shaken off her old obsession, which was something the young unicorn was still thinking deeply about. However, before she had a chance to say anything, Rainbow spoke first, her expression softening.

"Twilight...I appreciate your concern for me. But that part of my life...is over."

Twilight's mouth hung open yet again, and she watched as Rainbow began to turn away from her, no doubt to resume her weather duties above. However, after having been deep in thought over her friend's actions this whole time, a look of determination now crossed her face, and she lit up her horn. Within moments, she was bathed in a bright light, causing her to teleport. And when she reappeared, it was right in front of Rainbow, much to the latter's shock. Taken aback at her friend's magical display, Rainbow watched as she began to speak up again.

"Rainbow! I can't let you do this!"

Rainbow raised and eyebrow at that.

"Excuse me?"

Twilight's expression softened somewhat before she continued.

"Rainbow...I'm your friend. And friends don't let each other abandon their dreams! If my family hadn't encouraged me in my dream, to become a student of magic, I'd have never met Celestia, which means I’d have never met any of you! As your friend, I can't just let you walk away from this!"

Rainbow let out a sigh and began rubbing the side of her head with her hoof.

"Twilight...I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but I've already made my mind up on this."

Twilight shook her head.

"Before I came along, becoming a Wonderbolt was what you worked day and night to become. It was your biggest passion for most of your life. If you walk away from this now...you could regret it for the rest of your life."

There was silence between the two mares for a time, during which, Rainbow was thinking over her friend's words a great deal. However, it was clear that she remained unconvinced, as she began shaking her head slightly.

"Look, Twilight, I...."

But, she was stopped form speaking when Twilight continued.

"Rainbow. Please...listen! If you think you're better off not being a part of them, then fine. But...at least try joining them first. You won't know how you really feel about this unless you experience it first-hoof! I've never asked anything of you before now. But...now I'm asking. Just...give it a chance...please?"

Rainbow looked to her, at the way her eyes were so honestly pleading with her, and found that her resolve was wavering with every moment that passed by. In time, she let out yet another sigh, slumping her shoulders somewhat, before speaking in a low tone.

"Twilight...if I do this...if I go there...I have one condition."

Twilight kept silent, watching and waiting as her friend carried on.

"I still believe what I said about those guys. If I decide, after experiencing this academy, that that's not the life for me...will you respect my decision to not be a part of it?"

Yet again, silence fell between them, and Twilight saw the determination in Rainbow's eyes. She knew this was her only option. This one condition was the only chance she had of getting Rainbow into the group she'd so long held as her dream. The way Rainbow frowned made it clear that there was no negotiation on this point. If Rainbow didn't like what she saw at that academy, then she was going to avoid the Wonderbolts like the plague, and Twilight knew it. Eventually, Twilight exhaled deeply, giving a single nod to her friend.

"Alright...if that's what you want...I'll respect that decision...if you decide that that’s what you want."

With her friend's agreement, Rainbow let out a sigh, putting on a small smile for Twilight's benefit. After reaching behind her and scratching the back of her head, the young Pegasus looked to her unicorn friend and let out a dry chuckle.

"Well then...guess I'd better start writing back to Spitfire then."