Rainbow Dash ended up spending the rest of the day at Sugarcube Corner, even as the party wound to its end. She spent most of it on the dance floor, making a fool of herself and not giving a single buck about it. Pinkie’s knowledge of dance moves surprised her, until she realized that Pinkie excelled at anything that had to do with a party. The rest she spent at the buffet, and she wasted no time in getting herself fueled up with sugar.
So when she returned home at sunset, Rainbow collapsed into her bed. She had promised to start planning the weekend at Canterlot as soon as she could and had found herself almost unable to fly back to her clouds. She groaned and nuzzled her pillow. “I am never eating that much sugar again. Don’t think I’ve ever crashed so hard during one of my stunts compared to now.” The bedroom blurred before her eyes as she started her way toward oblivion—
—and then her eyes shot open as a knock-knock-knock on her front door sent her spiraling back to the land of the living.
“For the love of Celestia,” Rainbow muttered, “gimme a break!”
Dash crawled out of bed, stumbled toward the source of the disturbance, and tripped over a stray book she’d left on the floor. By the time she entered the living room, she had recovered enough of herself to figure out the first words she’d say to whoever came knocking. They were to be short, rude, and designed to send the pony crawling back to whatever cloud they came from without realizing they couldn’t fly.
Her anger evaporated once she opened the door.
“This looks like a bad time.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. Blond mane, hazel eyes, cutie mark of a lightning bolt with three stars, and a light blue coat. She’d only seen her once without her flight suit, but the image stuck with her. Her shock turned to delight, and she stepped aside to let the pony in. “For my wingpony? It’s always a good time! I was wondering when you’d show up!”
Lightning Dust stepped through the doorway with a smile. “You’re not an easy pony to get a hold of. Had a bit of a snag when I couldn’t find you in Cloudsdale, until they told me you lived in Ponyville. Took me a bit of looking before I figured out your house wasn’t there either.” She scanned the living room and whistled in approval. “Gotta say, this is a nice place. You make it yourself?”
Rainbow closed the door behind Lightning. “You know it! Took me a good year to do it, but I managed. Even added some neat adjustments to it, too!” She turned to face her. “That’s beside the point. What’re you doing here?”
Lightning’s gaze found the clouds that served as the carpet, one of her front hooves digging into the floor. After ten seconds of silence, she sighed and looked up at Dash. “I actually came here to make up for being such a pain in the flank at Basic.”
One of Rainbow’s brows quirked. “But you already did that. I mean, without you we wouldn’t have made it all the way to—”
“I know that.” Lightning gave Dash a downtrodden smile. “I was talking about your friends. Ever since you told me about them, it just made me feel so much worse about what happened. We were so focused on training that I never really had the chance to talk to you about this stuff, and they were gone anyway on the day I almost...” She looked away, finding the wall just behind Dash very interesting. “... Well, you know.”
A silence fell over the living room, and Rainbow’s eyes bored into the pegasus in front of her.
Lightning cleared her throat and looked back toward the cyan mare. “So yeah. If there’s anything I can do to apologize or make amends, I’ll do it. Anything at all.”
Dash rubbed her right forehoof just beneath her chin. “Anything, huh? I mean, you won’t back out when I tell you what I want, will you?”
Lightning shook her head. “I’m not one for wimping out of a promise. Lemme know how I can make up for it, and I’ll do it.”
The other mare grinned. “I want you to remember what you just said.” She took in a breath. “Honestly, you couldn’t have asked at a better time. I have a plan, and it’s gonna take all the help I can get. Ever heard of the Pegasus Grand Prix?”
Lightning Dust’s eyes widened. “What sane pegasus hasn’t? It’s only the biggest racing series ever, taking place all across Equestria! Manehattan, Neighpon, Bitaly...” She grinned. “At least three Wonderbolts on the current roster got their start from winning the Grand Prix. Every pegasus that wants to Sky Race dreams of this stuff!”
Rainbow nodded and took a few paces toward Lightning. “Good, you’re a fan. So you know what it takes to enter, what kinds of ponies are needed for the crew, how long the races and tracks are...”
Lightning blinked for a moment. “Well... yeah, I do. Why are you asking me all this?”
“Because I need a crew captain.” Rainbow Dash poked Lightning with her left foreleg. “And since I don’t know any better ponies for the job, you’re it.”
Silk curtains of purple and gold draped from the four-post bed, concealing the comforters and covers. A vast painting of a cloudscape, just at sunset, covered the ceiling. Carved into the floor, made of marble tiles that gleamed and shone when the moon cast its light upon it in just the right way, was a large portrayal of a six-pointed star, surrounded by six others. Even the walls were not spared the royal treatment, given a soft lavender paint job to match the rogue streak in her hair.
Just across from the twenty-foot-high double doors, a fireplace burned bright, with an odd collection displayed on the mantle. A doll with most of its stitching frayed, the buttons serving as eyes just about ready to fall off, sat in a diamond display case. A quill crafted from a phoenix’s tail feather gave off a slight glow. Pictures of ponies, framed in gold and covered in glass enchanted to ward off aging, sat front and center.
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood as straight and tall as she could, her head held high and the Tiara of Magic just behind her horn and ears. The crystal that used to be encased in Twilight’s Element twinkled and shone atop her new crown, but otherwise remained silent.
“Now remember, you have to be relaxed, but regal. Confident, but not too much so. Ponies have to see you as both one of them, and above them.”
Twilight’s face twisted into a frown of distaste. “But I’m not above them—I’m just like anypony else.” She glanced back at her wings. “These don’t change who I am. They just change what I can do.”
“I know that, you know that, and your friends know that. But other ponies don’t. They see you—us—as something more.”
Twilight sighed, her posture relaxing a bit. “I don’t know I can do this for much longer, Cadence. I mean, I want to learn how to be a princess, and I know I have what it takes. But this just feels like one big lie.”
Cadence sighed. “I know, but a lot of ponies are going to be looking to you for leadership. You might not be as tall as Auntie Celestia or Luna, or even me, but you still cast a long shadow. On top of that, you’re the most powerful unicorn ever seen. We still don’t know what kind of new magic you have either, so the other noble houses are nervous about you.”
Twilight grimaced. “I can’t be seen as weak or uncertain, no matter how true that is. Is that right?”
Cadence nodded. “Exactly.” She walked over to Twilight and ruffled her hair with one of her front hooves. “I know you’re good at organizing, and you’re already one of the smartest ponies I know. You can be a princess without trying. But you have to act like one too, and that’s not easy.” She sighed and sat near the fireplace, just atop the rug. “I’d know—Celestia taught me how when I first became an alicorn.”
Twilight blinked for a moment. “She did?” She trotted over and sat next to her old foalsitter, now her equal. She shivered at the thought. “Tell me how that went.”
Cadence chuckled. “I was in the same boat you’re in, trying to take all this in at once. It was confusing and hard to remember—especially things like etiquette. But there was one thing she told me that always got me through it.”
“And what was that?” Twilight’s eyes widened, her gaze locked on Cadence. “What lesson did you have to learn?” It was one she’d have to remember as well.
Cadence looked toward Twilight with a smile. “No matter what may happen, never lose who you really are. For me, it was my love, not just for Celestia, but for every pony I came across. Sure I got angry, but it was only from all the pointless arguments. It was just so silly to me.”
Twilight glanced at the carpet, her eyes distant, gaze trained elsewhere than the floor. For her, it was her friends. She wasn’t just friends with them, though—she was friends with an entire town. Ponyville had been her life for three years, and she’d seen so much. A Nightmare Night where Luna was accepted again; ponies celebrating their first successful Winter Wrap-Up in years; a formal event turned into a complete riot, saved only by the fact that it was something new and different. Twilight made a mental note to change how the Gala operated this year.
“Everything okay there?”
Twilight shook herself out of her trance and looked toward Cadence. “I want to see my friends.”
Cadence grinned. “I figured you would say that. You always get that wistful look when you’re thinking of them. I could arrange to have them brought here for you...” She giggled as Twilight’s face scrunched up. “...But if you want to do it yourself, that’s fine.”
Twilight smiled, stood back up, and trotted to the middle of the room, just in the center of her cutie mark carving. “Let’s get this going, Cadence. I need to be able to act like a princess before they get here.” But she’d never lose herself to it.
Cadence stood and walked until she was just beside Twilight, then she settled into posture without effort. “Now remember... relaxed, but regal.”
That night, Twilight dreamt of flying with Rainbow Dash, and of having a proper spa date with Rarity. She dreamt of tea with Fluttershy and attending another Apple Family reunion. She dreamt of one big party, with Pinkie and her in the middle of it all, and everyone else. A smile etched itself on her face for the rest of the evening.
Applejack wasn’t one for anything Rarity called “fabulous.” She’d rather call it impractical or wasteful and leave it at that, but miss frou-frou-frilly pony decided to be stubborn as a mule when it came to the spa. It was the one thing she insisted they do today along with Fluttershy, and Applejack had promised to participate in something that involved Rarity’s way of life, if the dressmaker would do the same for the farm pony.
“Nnnngh...”
She never did get why Fluttershy needed her wings preened and oiled, or why Rarity insisted on playing around in the mud like one of the pigs on the farm. They tried to explain to her, but it always went over her head.
“Little to the left—mmmm! There we go... Sweet Celestia, why didn’t I think of this sooner?”
This... Applejack could understand this.
Aloe’s hooves pressed into Applejack, finding knots the farm pony had ignored or worked through without complaint. A kink in her neck, fixed with a single light tap. Her right shoulder, unwound with a few gentle rubs. Her back legs uncoiled like tightly-wound springs. “This’s some kinda magic. It’s gotta be,” Applejack drawled, taking on an almost drowsy tone.
Rarity giggled. “I take it you are enjoying your first massage?” She peered out from one of the cucumbers over her eyes. “You worked so hard yesterday and Apple Bloom was fast asleep when I arrived, so I figured I’d treat you to this.”
“I feel like one of my ropes after it’s untangled and hung up,” Applejack sighed as another knot eased away. “If this’s what that feels like, sign me up for it!” She tilted her head toward Rarity. “You sure you okay about paying for this? I got the bits for it—”
“—and I insist that you not spend a single one of them. That money is yours; you earned it. You should be saving instead of spending it on silly things.” Rarity grinned. “That’s my job, and I’m happy to do it for my friends, so no more arguments!”
Applejack chuckled. “Well, you ain’t gettin’ any more lip from me on this, that’s for sure. I admit defeat.” Applejack groaned from yet another strained muscle being stretched out. “This keeps up, I won’t be awake for the rest of it.”
Fluttershy giggled from the adjacent table, her wings glistening with a faint sheen of peppermint oil. “You should have seen me after my first one. They had to wake me up for the next appointment on the books!” She gave Lotus Blossom a nod as the spa pony walked toward Rarity’s mud bath. “So you were saying something about heading for Canterlot this weekend?”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah, we’re gonna pay Twi a visit. It was Rainbow Dash’s idea, actually.” She hesitated for a moment. “She also had another idea, one that I’m already on board with. It’s crazy and probably won’t work, but I can’t rightly back out now.”
Rarity pulled the cucumber slices off her eyes. “Whatever do you mean, Applejack?”
“Well, y’all ever heard of Sky Racing?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened.
Rarity tilted her head to the right, her hoof rubbing her chin in thought. “Is it something like the Wonderbolt Derby? That was rather exciting to watch, and I do admit placing a small bet on one of them, just to see what it was like.”
Applejack shook her head. “Not exactly. That there’s just racing in a circle a few times. Sky Racing is—”
“—racing with twists and turns and curves.”
The other two mares in the room shifted their gaze toward Fluttershy, who was busy hiding behind her mane. “Um... it’s reserved for pegasi with a wing power of one thousand at minimum, on specially built courses. It’s not just speed—it’s agility and cornering, watching the best line to take while making sure nopony else finds a better one.”
Applejack sat there on the massage table, stunned into silence. When she managed to speak, it was with a soft tone. “Didn’t know you were a fan, ’Shy.”
Fluttershy blushed. “I’m not. Not really. It’s all very scary to me, honestly.”
Rarity blinked. “Well only an aficionado of the sport could know such things, dear. So if it’s not you, then your parents must have talked about it quite a bit, yes?”
“Something like that.” Fluttershy stared at the tiled floor just below her massage table, and her wings trembled. She took in a breath and spoke again. “I never told you about my parents, did I? You never asked, and I was fine with that. I think it’s time I said something.” She looked toward Applejack, then Rarity. “My dad is a retired Sky Racer.”
Two pairs of eyes widened. “Well shoot, that’s about the darndest thing!” Applejack grinned. “I mean, I heard about the hurricane you helped out with—thought all that speed from you came outta nowhere. Guess that shows how wrong I was about that!”
Rarity almost squealed with delight. “Well, you must tell us all about this! I can’t imagine how many tried to knock him off the track, how many close calls or crashes he had. To think that my dearest friend has such an important pony for a father!” She rose from her mud bath, just in time for Aloe to come by and rinse her off. “So tell me, how many races did he win?”
“Um... all of them.”
Rarity blinked again. Applejack’s jaw went slack for a few seconds before she got herself together again. “Beg pardon, sugar cube? Heard you say all of them.”
Fluttershy sighed. “Just before he retired, my dad, Sunset Streak, was the champion of the Pegasus Grand Prix for three years running.”
Rarity’s squeal finally came out. “My best friend has a bona-fide celebrity for a father, and she never told me! Honestly I should be angry, but I’m not, because it’s just so wonderful!” Stars danced in her eyes. “This explains Flight Camp too, it makes perfect sense! He wanted you to follow in his hoofprints—”
“—and I failed!” Fluttershy sniffed, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. “I couldn’t race, I couldn’t fly, I could barely open my wings, and if it weren’t for Rainbow Dash, I... I...”
“You wouldn’t have done what you did when it came time to send water to Cloudsdale.” Applejack bowed her head. “But you’re wrong about one thing. You did follow in his hoofprints. Twilight told us all everything after it was over. You put out a thousand wing power out there, and if it weren’t for you, that water wouldn’t have gotten where it needed to be!” Applejack lifted her head toward Fluttershy with a smile. “Dash might’ve pushed you and motivated you—but that? That was all you.”
Fluttershy fell silent, her eyes locked on Applejack’s. Then she brushed the tears away and smiled back. “It... it was all me, wasn’t it?”
Rarity nodded. “And a fine thing it was! It must’ve been satisfying, hearing everyone cheer you on.” She glanced at Applejack. “So I trust Rainbow Dash’s idea is to take us all to the races and watch, right?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I already figured what Applejack was talking about when she said it. Rainbow Dash is gonna try to win this year’s Grand Prix.”
Applejack nodded. “I was gonna ask this when we went to Canterlot, but since we’re already talking about it—are y’all in or out?” She glanced at Fluttershy. “I can rightly understand if you don’t wanna. You can say no and that’ll be okay. But I don’t know what she’s gonna do if we’re even one member short, and I don’t think she trusts anyone else.”
For a few moments, Fluttershy stared at the floor again, her eyes shifting from side to side. After a while she shut her eyes, took in a breath, and lifted her head. “No, Applejack. I’ll do it.” She opened her eyes and turned toward Applejack with a smile. “She needs us again, and that won’t change no matter how scary this is. I just don’t know what I can do to help.”
“Well I know what she’ll need me for,” Rarity responded with a toss of her curls, “so I can certainly help with that. But I’m not cut out for—what was it—pit crew work?” Her eyes narrowed. “The smell of all that wing oil and all the sweat and grime and...” She almost paled. “No, I do not believe I can do that.”
Applejack chuckled. “She won’t need you to. Just come to the races and watch her; cheer her on. You’re right, though—she’s gonna need something to race in. I’m sure she’ll let you know the specifics when it’s time.” The farm pony sighed in relief. “Y’know, for a second there, I though I wouldn’t be able to get y’all to do this!”
Rarity blinked. “Why not? Would it be the fact that none of us know much about this, present company excluded? Or the fact that some of us don’t like being icky?” She smiled. “Well, that’s never stopped us before, has it?”
Fluttershy turned toward Applejack. “Rainbow’s helped us so many times. If we can help her with her dreams, we should put everything we can behind it. Besides, I’m not going to let how nervous I am about all this get in the way.”
Applejack grinned. “Atta girl! Now all she needs is a captain and we’re good.” She placed a hoof under her chin. “Only question is, who’s that gonna be?”