"Announcing her Royal Majesty, Queen Celestia!"

It was the evening of the Canterlot Society Dinner, one of the most highbrow affairs of the year outside of the Grand Galloping Gala. Amid the trumpets and fanfare, one pony rolled her eyes. Another night, another boring function.

How Celestia could do this year after year and decade after decade was a mystery to Rainbow Dash. She wished she could’ve ducked out to do something better with her time, but the Queen insisted she come. She was expected to show up to at least some of these high society events. Even if a trip to the dentist was more productive and only half as painful.

She cast a quick, yearning look out the window towards the clear evening sky. It was perfect weather for flying, yet she had to waste the night indoors at some fancy party for a bunch of rich snobs. Plus, it was a formal party, which meant wearing a dress that had more layers than a wedding cake. Her wings twitched, feeling restrained.

After so many years in Canterlot, she could predict exactly how long the applause for the Queen would last before the herald would get around to actually announcing her. Her ear flicked. Queen Celestia saw the sign of her growing impatience and gently nudged her, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and she subtly shook her head.

Her message delivered, Queen Celestia strode out and shimmered down the stairs to the tepid applause that the upper-class thought showed proper appreciation. Hidden behind the curtains at the top of the stairs, Rainbow sarcastically mouthed the herald’s words, “And her student, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow bristled and walked out on cue, moving with small, measured steps … then, with a flare of her wings, she flipped and somersaulted to the bottom of the stairs. Stairs were for ponies without wings or without style, and she had both.

However, the bulky sensation of her dress threw her off, and she landed way harder than she meant to. Her cheeks burned as she scrambled to fix her dress, and one of Celestia’s lessons echoed in her mind. Something something modesty, dignity, pride before the fall; it’d been boring then, and with her dignity shot from the botched landing it didn’t do much to help now. The attendees stared at her longer than they needed to, then murmured and quickly found something else to look at. “Wouldn’t know a good performance if it bucked them in the face,” Rainbow muttered.

With nothing to do for it but to suffer through it, she walked over to the horse-do-over table. Okay, it was the hors d’oeuvre table, but given how it was spelled, that’s how Rainbow always thought of it. It’s also what she thought needed to happen with the food. She almost gagged when she sampled the tiny morsels. How the hay did ponies convince themselves that they liked these? What was wrong with a hayburger and fries?

“Rainbow Dash!” Her head perked up at Queen Celestia’s voice. “Could you come over here please?”

“Sure! Just a second, Celestia!” she called back, ignoring the other guests’ disapproving stares and sniffs. As Rainbow Dash nimbly worked her way through the crowd, she couldn’t help pick up on grumbled snippets of conversations: hushed, haughty proclamations about slipping standards. Her ear twitched irritably, but Rainbow tried to ignore them. If standards were actually enforced, all these ponies would’ve been shown the door.

She arrived to find the Queen with a unicorn couple. The mustached, monocled stallion somehow managed to be funny and kinda cool at the same time, though the mare looked like she was in more dire need of a hayburger than even Rainbow. Queen Celestia smiled as she watched Rainbow approach. “Rainbow Dash, I would like you to meet Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, the hosts of tonight's festivities.”

Rainbow smiled and silently mouthed to the Queen out of the corner of her mouth, "Fancy Pants?"

The Queen rolled her eyes and mouthed back, "Be nice.”

“Charmed to make your acquaintance, my dear!” Fancy beamed, bowing to her. Fleur smiled as well, but remained pressed close to Fancy.

“Uh yeah, ditto.” Rainbow fought the impulse to facehoof. No matter how hard she tried, she could never make herself sound classy at these lame events. Celestia raised a hoof to her face, barely obscuring a grin, and Rainbow tried again, shifting her tone as she attempted to talk more formally. She thought back to her lessons with the Queen—specifically, Celestia’s three-step guide to polite conversation. “I mean, uh, yes.”

Step 1: Pretend to have interest in Mr. Pants. Her mouth curled into a grin. Step 1a: Don’t actually call him that. “It’s great to meet you too,” she said. “What is it that brings you here?”

“My companion and I are here to take in the splendid company of the Queen and the rest of Canterlot society. Including yourself, of course!” Rainbow somehow doubted that. As if reading her mind, Fancy Pants added, “It really is a pleasure to meet you at last, my dear. Queen Celestia has spoken about you many times to me. Why, I almost feel as if I know you already. Still, it’s most welcome to get to talk to you in the flesh, as it were.”

Rainbow suspected that might have been a crack about her way-too-heavy dress. She felt her wings bristle, but she forced herself to take a deep breath and remember Celestia’s second rule of polite conversation. Okay, Step 2: Don’t let the condescending remarks get to you. If it was unintentional, there’s no point complaining about it, and if it was an insult, then ignoring it will annoy them.

“This isn't my first time being shown around like this,” Rainbow replied neutrally. Step 3: Be as bland as possible, and only respond when you have to. Revert to Step 2 as necessary.

“Well, I’m sorry we haven’t had the chance to talk before now,” the mustached pony answered. “I know it can be difficult to suffer through one of these if you don’t enjoy idle gossip or sabotaging the self-worth of everypony around you.”

That caught Rainbow Dash's attention. She’d thought the same thing many times in the past, but she’d never heard anypony else say it out loud to her. “I know exactly what you mean!” she exclaimed. “Everypony is always so wrapped up in themselves and taking shots at each other that there's never any actual fun!”

Fancy Pants chuckled. “I must say, you are a breath of fresh air, and you do add some much-needed color to these proceedings.” He raised Rainbow’s hoof to his muzzle and gently kissed it.

Her cheeks lit up with a bright blush as her voice broke into an embarrassed squeak. “Th-thanks. So, um, nice party?”

“My thanks, but I think we both know it isn’t the liveliest.” Fancy Pants chuckled drolly. “I’m sure you’ve been to much more festive soirées, haven’t you?”

Rainbow tried and failed to suppress a sigh. “You could say that. I mean, it’s great that you invited me!” she added, feeling Celestia’s stare burning into the back of her head. “Still, it’s no day at the Wonderbolts Derby.”

She meant to keep her tone light and airy, but a little frustration still bled through. The Wonderbolts were the epitome of skill and determination. Rainbow once thought that being Queen Celestia’s student would be all about fast-tracking her so she could join them sooner. Instead, she was stuck here.

Celestia readily picked up on the source of her frustration. “Rainbow Dash...” Her rebuke was gentle, but a rebuke nonetheless.

Rainbow lowered her head. “Sorry.”

“Not at all! I quite agree,” Fancy Pants chuckled again. “Your Majesty, you certainly have a fine student. It’s always refreshing to hear a young mare speak her mind. In fact—” he looked down at Rainbow Dash “—I happen to have a personal box for the Wonderbolts Derby, and I think a standing invitation to join me would make the experience much more memorable. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh … That’s so awesome!” Rainbow looked to Queen Celestia. “I can go, right? Please say yes!”

Celestia smiled wryly. “I don’t see why not, provided you keep up with your studies.”

Rainbow idly rubbed the back of her neck. “Ahehheh, sure, right. My studies. No problem!" She replied quickly before turning back to her host. "Thanks again, Fancy Pants! That’s really cool of you!”

“Nicest thing anypony has said about me in ages,” the older stallion chortled. “I think there are some other ponies your age here. Why don’t you go talk to them while we old ponies ruminate on how things were much better when we were young?” He winked, prompting a small laugh from Rainbow.

“Sure thing! Thanks again!” Rainbow was practically dancing on the tips of her hooves. Maybe this party wouldn’t be so lame after all!

---

Lamest. Party. Ever. Rainbow moped as she rested her head on her foreleg. She hadn’t been able to get within five feet of the ponies her own age before all the petty talk of society gossip and fashion made her feel like she was about to lose her lunch. Lost for what to do, she just wandered around until dinner was served.

Dash looked down at the spread in front of her and couldn’t help wondering why they had a hundred seemingly identical spoons and forks when all the serving sizes were small enough to finish with one swallow. A small bowl of soup was placed before her, and her hoof was halfway to the soup spoon when she froze. The fact that she even knew which one out of these countless spoons was the correct one bothered her immensely.

I’ve been in Canterlot training and studying for years, and what have I gotten out of it? Am I recognized as the world’s best flyer yet? No, I just know which pointless spoon to use. For crying out loud, it’s tiny! The soup will be cold before I get halfway done with it.

Rainbow seethed as she felt the gaze of the partygoers on her when she moved to select her spoon. They were already preparing to judge her based on her decision of silverware. Not her personality nor her abilities or skill; no, it all came down to being judged on table etiquette, one of the most pointless and irrelevant of matters.

Across from Rainbow, she caught the shadow of a smile on the face of a smug-looking pink unicorn mare about her own age. She turned to her companions on either side of her and began to titter amongst themselves, amused by the presence of the clearly out-of-place pegasus.

That’s when Rainbow made her decision: it wasn’t worth it. Even the satisfaction of proving them wrong would be a hollow victory. There wasn’t any point in going through the motions anymore. Instead—foregoing any silverware at all—she grabbed the soup bowl with her hooves and drank the entire thing in one gulp. She smirked at the scandalized faces of the snobby young ponies who immediately began whispering with one another.

When some of the older ponies sitting nearby frowned at her, Rainbow Dash defiantly held her head high and looked each one of them in the eye. One by one, they all looked away. The rest of dinner passed in relative silence as ponies watched the young pegasus devour her salad with the wrong fork, biting their lips at the crude display but saying nothing.

After dinner, Rainbow went out onto the balcony, enjoying the silence and the cool night air. It was a welcome break from all the stuffiness of the evening. She rested her head against the balcony railing and let the wind blow through her mane. It felt wonderful.

A shame it didn’t last.

“Why, hello!” She looked up to see the pink snob from the table and a gaggle of her giggling friends approached her. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Tiffany, and this is Primrose and Royal Blue.” She gestured to her two companions.

Rainbow Dash snorted softly at the names. Apparently their parents were history buffs, naming their kids after some of the traditional six unicorn princesses who ruled before the founding of Equestria. Historical or not, it was still dumb. What the hay is a ‘Tiffany’ anyway?

“So sorry to disturb you,” Tiffany went on. “I should’ve realized you must’ve been tired, given how quick you were to finish your meal. It must take a lot of work for you to stay so thin and trim.”

When Rainbow first came to Canterlot, she would’ve thought that was a compliment. Bitter experience had taught her to see through the words to find the insult buried beneath. That’s how fake Canterlot was, she realized: they can’t even openly insult you straight to your face. “You know I can tell you’re just pretending to be nice when you’re actually being insulting, right? You’re about as subtle as a tap-dancing yak.”

Tiffany’s fake-smile shrunk ever so slightly. “Aren’t we in a mood? I just wanted to ask if you could share some of Her Majesty’s thoughts. So much of what she does is a mystery to us. Perhaps could you enlighten us about a few of her more … curious decisions?”

There was no mistaking what that meant. Rainbow snorted. “I’m sure a lot of things go over your head.” She fluttered her wings meaningfully.

Primrose and Royal Blue traded hushed whispers while Tiffany’s complexion darkened, making Rainbow smirk. “Understanding is in the eye of the beholder,” Tiffany growled, maintaining her smile through sheer force of will. Rainbow knew that expression very well. She wore it every time she was at a function like this, usually when dealing with ponies like Tiffany. “Perhaps you should see an optometrist about your unique sense of fashion.” She patted her ruffled pink dress. “I seem to recall you went for a very minimalist look at the Canterlot Garden Party last month.”

In fact, Rainbow remembered with a snicker, she hadn’t worn anything to that party. It had been an ongoing fight with Celestia about her and ‘proper attire’. She didn’t mind dresses on principle, but a lot of the ‘appropriate’ dresses were either so delicate she felt like she was walking on eggshells or, like tonight’s dress, they were so stifling and multilayered that she felt like she was like wearing a sleeping bag. Most of all though, Rainbow hated having to change who she was just to gain acceptance from Canterlot ponies who never gave it anyway. The best compromise she and Celestia had come up with had boiled down to alternating events where she would wear a dress.

If these ponies thought riding her about a lack of a dress was going to bother Rainbow, they thought wrong. She shrugged, knowing how much it would annoy them. “Really, if you can’t come up with any better insults I’m going to just leave. I’m just getting bored here.”

Tiffany was unable to hide a derisive snort. “Nopony wants to keep you if you don’t want to be here. I’m sure you have so much to do as the student of the most powerful magic user in the world.” She paused, pretending to think hard. “Perhaps you could remind us, what is it you’re doing, exactly? Somehow, I don’t think you’re learning magic from the Queen.”

Rainbow gritted her teeth. She would’ve liked to do nothing better, but Celestia didn’t want her freely talking. Not about that, certainly. “Lots of things,” she answered. “If you don’t know then I guess Celestia just decided you weren’t important enough to know.” She knew that riposte would hit Tiffany where it hurt.

The color rose in Tiffany’s cheeks, proving her right. “You—you common lout!” she spat. “What have you ever done to make you so special?! Fly through the streets while being chased by the guards like a criminal? Flap your little wings and make pretty rainbows? You’re just Queen Celestia’s idea of a charity case!"

“You want to see what I can do?! Just watch!” Rainbow snorted and stomped onto the balcony. As she walked she began shucking her dress off, ignoring the scandalized gasps behind her. By the time she reached the balcony ledge, she was free and unencumbered. She turned around and tossed Tiffany a mocking salute before casually stepping off the ledge. Rainbow let herself fall until she was about halfway to the ground, then snapped her wings open and soared upwards.

The night sky beckoned her. Rainbow Dash heeded its call, her signature contrail following her in the dark sky. She pushed forward, straining herself to the limit. She could feel the air barrier pressing against her as she flapped her wings faster and faster, trying to squeeze out that last burst of speed she needed to push through. Her wings ached, sweat dripping down her face. Come on. Let me just do it this time…

But she couldn’t break through. The barrier snapped her back like a rubber band, sending her tumbling head over hooves. Rainbow flailed her hooves as she desperately tried to prevent herself from simply smacking into a nearby building like she had done with the School for Gifted Unicorns. And the Canterlot Opera during their showing of Die Neighbelung. And the royal guard’s barracks shower.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash did a mid-air somersault not unlike the one she performed at the start of the evening. Having reoriented herself somewhat, she managed to largely bring herself back under control. She landed heavily back on the balcony, her hooves stinging as they slammed onto the ground.

Unfortunately, all that did was bring her back to Tiffany and her cronies. Rainbow Dash’s cheeks burned as they laughed, having witnessed her failure. “You certainly showed us!” Tiffany crowed. “Here I thought the Queen kept you on because you could fly. Turns out you can’t even do that! Now we know why Queen Celestia keeps you around: every court needs a jester, right Rainbow Crash?”

That does it. Rainbow clenched her teeth and flew back to the sky, their gales of laughter echoing in her ears. She grabbed a low-hanging cloud and sped it back over. Tiffany barely seemed to notice. “Now you brought over a cloud! Good for you—getting a headstart on your future as a cloud bucker?”

“Buck this!” Rainbow slammed her hooves down on the cloud, sending a chilly downpour onto the gaggle of high-class fillies. They let out a startled shriek as their teeth began to chatter. Tiffany and her compatriots shivered, their elegant dresses drenched and clinging to them, making them look almost sickly thin. Rainbow snickered as their makeup ran down their faces in rivulets, glad for the sake of her eardrums that they couldn’t see their reflections.

Tiffany sputtered with fury. “Y-you nag!” A small bolt of lightning sputtered out of the cloud and struck her rump. She ran off with a squealed whinny, her friends quickly following.

Rainbow didn’t bother trying to hide her amusement, hugging herself and laughing as she lay back on her borrowed cloud. Nopony called her ‘Crash’ without getting a shocked plot. Her amusement faded as she felt the cloud begin to move out towards the empty balcony. It dissipated and left Rainbow falling heavily on her hooves. She looked up to see the one responsible: Queen Celestia. She towered over her, looking like a dark cloud right before a storm. All she said was one word: “Really?”

“Hey, you weren’t here!” Rainbow described the altercation. “And it’s not like this is the first time I’ve had to deal with this sort of horseapples either.”

“I know,” Celestia sighed. “I try to address this sort of behavior wherever I can, but I cannot be everywhere. You must find a more productive way to deal with these sorts of disagreements yourself. There will always be neighsayers, but being angry won’t change their minds.” She arched her brow. “Lightning, while perhaps momentarily satisfying, changes even less. You must find a way that promotes respectfulness on all parts.”

Rainbow goggled at her. “Respect? How am I supposed to be respectful to a bunch of jerks who never show me any? I’m not gonna just let them trot all over me and smile when they do it! If they want respect they have to show me some of their own first!” There had been ponies back in Cloudsdale who she hadn’t always gotten along with, but she never lived in a place where folks just looked straight through her, sizing her up and judging if she was even worth acknowledging. If she was, then it wasn’t because of who she was as much as who she knew.

She spotted Celestia flexing her wings and straightening her poise, subtle signs that she was getting tense. Rainbow unconsciously did the same; this was hardly the first time they had an argument, but in the last few months, it felt like they were hardly doing anything but arguing. Just two weeks ago they’d gotten into it over seeing the Wonderbolts Summer Extravaganza. So she’d blown off some gallery opening Celestia wanted them both to be at. What was the big deal? In the past, they’d been able to talk things over and work out a compromise. Like when Celestia let her join the guards’ camping trip in exchange for going to the opera.

But lately it had become one high social event after another, so many that she had hardly had any time to even practice her flying. On top of everything else she knew was coming, it was driving her nuts. Now when Celestia pushed, she pushed back.

“I know it’s difficult.” Celestia was visibly straining to hold onto her temper, at least by her standards.

Rainbow Dash pawed at the ground. “If I could just tell them what you’re training me for, tell them what’s coming...”

Celestia shook her head. “It does no good to panic random ponies by telling them of the coming danger.” She sighed. “Especially not to soothe your own hurt feelings. You’re better than that.”

Rainbow dug in her hooves. “You said I could stop Nightmare Moon when she returns to Equestria. But I can’t talk about that, so now I just look like the biggest failure ever.”

“That isn’t the right way to look at why I made you my pupil.” Celestia’s shoulders sagged. “I’m starting to wonder if I made a mistake telling you about my sister’s return. I wanted you to be prepared, not obsessed.”

Rainbow threw up her hooves. “You tell me that some ancient evil is coming back to doom the world, but I shouldn’t focus on that? Oh no, it’s much more important that I learn what fork to use or when relations were established with the deer, because that totally makes sense! You keep interrupting my training to drag me to these events for—for no reason at all!”

“Not all problems can be solved with creative use of a thundercloud.” Celestia let a slight grumble work its way into her voice. “I’ve let you work extensively with a guard trainer of your own choice.” She gave her a knowing look. “We’ve far from neglected your physical training. But there’s more to saving Equestria—and more to improving yourself—than finding new ways to hit things. Learning how to cooperate with others is important.”

Rainbow snorted. “What, Tiffany being my friend is going to save the world? Then we’re all doomed. The only thing they care about is sucking up to you through me or getting me out of the way so they can do it more directly.” She stood up to her, angrily beating her wings. “I’m sick of being judged by a bunch of snobs and back-stabbers, I’m sick of wasting my time on them and I’m sick of you shoving me at them!” She pointed an accusing hoof at Celestia. “Not to mention your lessons lately have nothing at all to do with—anything! How is knowing Platrot or being diplomatic with snobs going to help me stop Nightmare Moon?”

Celestia whickered in frustration. “There are answers to be found in many places—if you give them a chance.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide. “You say that like I haven’t been trying! Is this all my fault now? I’m just a bad student like they’ve all been saying?” She bit off each word, a faint tremor in her voice. “You’re right, what was I thinking expecting you to actually help me accomplish my dreams or, you know, save the world instead of doing—whatever it is you want me to do! I’m sorry I’m not the perfect student who can curtsey and quote historical poetry! If you wanted somepony who can do all that stuff maybe you should have chosen one of those other ponies instead!”

“Rainbow Dash, you will be still!" Celestia closed her eyes and took a breath, already regretting the lapse. Her anger had passed as quickly as it arose, like a cloud that blocked the sun. She gently rested a wing on Rainbow’s back

As much as Rainbow hated it when they fought like this, she hated how so simple a gesture could make her feel instantly guilty for ever arguing with her at all. She felt her eyes tear up and she looked away, not wanting Celestia to see. She hastily rubbed a hoof across her face. “I’m always stuck in your shadow,” she choked out. “And always being compared to you … and I can’t win!” Rainbow Dash shut her eyes. “I can't even be me! How am I supposed to compete with you?!”

“Rainbow—” Celestia started, but Rainbow’d had enough.

“I gotta go!” She backed away.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!”

Rainbow took to the air, flying off as fast as her wings could carry her. She heard Celestia calling after her, but her words were lost in the wind.

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